Pine Bluff Incineration Starts, Stops

Weapons incineration at the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Arkansas resumed Friday, only to be halted again Sunday following another fire (see GSN, May 20).

Contractor Washington Group International on Wednesday stopped disposal of sarin-filled M55 rockets following a fire at the Umatilla disposal site in Oregon. Processing restarted following a review of the Umatilla fire and implementation of additional safety measures at Pine Bluff (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, May 20).

However, operations stopped Sunday following a small fire in the Pine Bluff explosion containment room, the Associated Press reported. Debris from a rocket being cut into pieces ignited and burned for about 20 seconds before being extinguished.

This was the second fire this month at Pine Bluff (see GSN, May 18).

“At this time, the cause of the flare up is being investigated,” the Army said in a statement. “Disposal operations will resume once site officials are confident that any necessary corrective measures have been implemented” (Associated Press/Daily Herald, May 22).

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