Richmond Register

12/16/01

Our Opinion:

Key disposal players must commit

Much to our amazement, the great chemical weapons debate became even more confusing last week when Sen. Mitch McConnell, R.-Ky., introduced an amendment to a defense spending bill, which required the consideration of a third option to dispose of the chemical weapons stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot.

The new method of disposal allows for the disassembly and neutralization of the chemical weapons at the Depot. The neutralized agent, which is still toxic would be stored on-site until a decision is made on how to dispose of the secondary waste.

Why is it now that we are hearing about this third option? Why wasn't Craig Williams and his Berea anti-incineration group fighting for this until now? This is suspicious to say the least. Supposedly this method has been tested and was a back-up for incineration. Has it been tested on the scale needed for Blue Grass? Does it have a track record at all? Can the neutralized agent be safely shipped and still follow treaty guidelines? Questions are about the only certainty with this third method.

The supposed reasoning behind McConnell's amendment is that we live in a different world since Sept. 11 and recent internal reports suggesting incineration could take more than 15 years to get rid of the chemical agent stored at our Depot. It is pretty low, and definitely opportunistic, to use Sept. 11 in a political chess game.

It's ludicrous for incineration opponents to claim time can be a determining factor in how the weapons should be destroyed, because if it weren't for them, the deadly nerve and blister agent would be long gone. Time after time, they claimed the storage is not all that dangerous for the surrounding community. It was the evil incineration that posed the greatest threat. If anything, the Depot is safer since Sept. 11 since the Army has added additional security forces to patrol the area.

The Anniston (Ala.) Star, a newspaper that also includes a Depot in its coverage area, called Sen. McConnell's amendment a sham and called him a fool. While we won't go that far, McConnell's amendment is misguided. Whatever the final disposal choice turns out to be, the choice should be for the safety of Madison County residents and not based on political motivation.