United States:  Congressman Resists Safety Upgrade at Anniston Incinerator

A congressional measure that seeks to improve agent detection equipment at U.S. chemical weapons sites is being opposed by an Alabama congressman whose district includes the Anniston Army Depot, the Birmingham News reported Saturday (see GSN, June 2).

A “sense of the Senate” provision in its version of the 2004 defense authorization bill recommends that the U.S. Army update agent detection technology at all chemical weapon sites from “inefficient and outdated” to “newer and advanced” systems.  House Republican Mike Rogers said he opposes the recommendation, however, because he does not believe the existing equipment is outdated, according to the News.

Senator Jim Bunning (R-Ken.) has sought the support of senators and representatives from states or districts with chemical weapons sites to keep the language in the final bill.  Senators Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) support the measure.

“Congressman Rogers believes that there is no problem with further research looking at different technologies for this or any other system, but he is uncomfortable with insinuating that the present system is inadequate or unsafe for the workforce,” said Rogers’ Chief of Staff Rob Jesmer.

In addition, Anniston depot officials are against any measure to change systems, because the depot’s chemical weapons incinerator is close to beginning operation, said Anniston incinerator spokesman Mike Abrams.

“It would set us back an incredible amount of time we otherwise could be using to effectively reducing the present risk ... of continued storage of the weapons,” Abrams said.  “The best way to serve the community is to operate this facility now and not be delayed for any reason,” he said (Mary Orndorff, Birmingham News, June 21).

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United States I:  Chemical Leak Discovered at Pine Bluff Arsenal

A dangerous chemical leak was detected Monday at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas after a worker there suffered a minor burn, the Pine Bluff Commercial reported today (see GSN, May 21).

Preliminary reports indicated that a solution containing sodium hydroxide — a chemical commonly used in industrial applications to neutralize acids — leaked from a valve and into a local creek, according to Ann Gallegos, public affairs officer for the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

The material that leaked from the valve was a “diluted solution with an 18 percent concentration” of sodium hydroxide, the Commercial reported.  The worker was treated for the burn and returned to work yesterday.

“What they’re saying is that it was some type of leak or a discharge, but the source has been corrected,” Gallegos said, noting that amount of chemicals leaked was not sufficient enough to warrant a report to the Environmental Protection Agency (Scott Loftis, Pine Bluff Commercial, June 18).

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United States II:  Pentagon Awards Chemical Weapon Destruction Contract

The U.S. Department of Defense last week selected two contractors to destroy the 524-ton chemical weapons stockpile at Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky (see GSN, Jan. 3).

The Pentagon awarded the project to a joint venture of two California firms, Bechtel National and Parsons Infrastructure and Technology Group.  The task of building, operating and closing the weapon destruction facility is expected to last 10 years and cost $2 billion, according to the Lexington Herald Leader.

Bechtel currently holds the contracts for destroying chemical weapons at Aberdeen, Md. (see GSN, May 15) and Pueblo, Colo. (see GSN, July 25, 2002), while Parsons is responsible for eliminating the VX stockpile at Newport, Ind. (see GSN, Nov. 19, 2002).

The firms will eliminate stocks of mustard agent, VX and GB (sarin) using a neutralization process, in which warm water and caustic solutions break down the weapons agents.

The Army has already begun talks with state agencies to seek approval for the construction of nonweapons support facilities at the plant.  “If the regulatory authorities will allow that, which we think they are going to do, they could be pushing dirt over there by late summer or early fall,” said Craig Williams, executive director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, a national group that promotes disposing of chemical weapons without incineration.

The design for the neutralization facility itself could be finished in a couple of months, Williams said (Greg Kocher, Lexington Herald Leader, June 17).

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