United States:  Contract Awarded for Pine Bluff Disposal Facility

The U.S. Army has awarded a U.S. company a $20.4 million contract to build a facility at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas to dispose of binary precursor chemicals used in the production of chemical weapons, the Pine Bluff Commercial reported today (see GSN, May 21).

Teledyne Brown Engineering will convert a building at the arsenal to dispose of stockpiles of methylphosphonic difluoride (DF) and o-ethyl-o-2-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonite (QL), which were designed to combine with other chemicals in a chemical weapon to produce sarin and VX.

The Pine Bluff Binary Destruction Facility will be housed in a building originally designed for DF production and will use some of the same equipment used to produce the chemical agent, according to the Commercial.  Construction of the facility is set to begin in June 2004 and is scheduled to be completed in January 2005 (Pine Bluff Commercial, June 24).

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CWC:  OPCW Executive Council Set to Begin Three-Day Session Today

The Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which oversees the Chemical Weapons Convention, is set to begin a three-day meeting today in The Hague (see GSN, June 3).

The meeting’s agenda includes discussion on Russia’s efforts to dispose of its chemical weapons stockpile, with a report on the operation of the Gorny chemical weapons disposal plant to be made public (see GSN, June 4).

Other items on the agenda include the conversion of former chemical weapons disposal facilities to civilian use, verification plans and various budgetary matters, according to Russian OPCW representative Gennady Lutai (Nikolai Teterin, ITAR-Tass, June 24).

For further information, see:

CWC Text

OPCW Main Page

CWC States Parties

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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bill recommends that the U.S. Army update agent detection technology at all chemical weapon sites from “inefficient and outdated” to “newer and advanced” systems.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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