Repairs Delay Resumption of CW Disposal at Anniston

Furnace repairs have forced the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Alabama to delay resuming VX nerve agent destruction until the end of this month or early November (see GSN, Oct. 5).

Work stopped earlier this month for a scheduled maintenance period at the plant, according to a U.S. Army press release.  Near the end of maintenance, workers found components in the afterburner and pollution abatement system of the Deactivation Furnace System that needed to be fixed or replaced.

The system is the furnace used to burn M55 rockets that have been emptied of chemical agent and chopped into multiple pieces.

There was damage to parts of the system’s exhaust ductwork and electrical conduit, and to some pollution abatement system equipment.

The damage might have occurred during efforts to relight the afterburner, the release states.  The specific cause remains under investigation.  The review is expected to be finished this month.

Since beginning VX disposal on July 23, the facility has destroyed 14,425 M55 rockets and 16,321 gallons of liquid agent (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Oct. 23).

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