Thousands of False Alarms, 10 Actual Sarin Leaks Plague Anniston Incinerator

The U.S. Army’s chemical weapons incinerator in Anniston, Ala., has experienced 10 sarin gas leaks and thousands of false alarms in the first month of operations, the Birmingham News reported yesterday(see GSN, Sept. 2).

Since operations began Aug. 9, the facility has experienced false alarms from overly sensitive monitoring equipment, according to Army scientists and technicians.  The monitors are sometimes set off by diesel trucks in the incinerator’s parking lot or by some roofing materials, according to the News.

The Army confirmed that 10 alarms indicated actual leaks, but officials said that the potentially contaminated areas were pressurized so the gas would not escape.

“It is the truth that we will have open containers of agent, and we will have agent readings in the facility,” said Time Garrett, project manager for the incinerator (Katherine Bouma, Birmingham News, Sept. 4).

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London Plans Subway Chemical Attack Exercise

Hundreds of British emergency responders are expected to take part Sunday in a simulated chemical weapons attack on the London Underground subway system, according to the Financial Times (see GSN, Aug. 12).

The exercise is scheduled to occur at the Bank subway station in London, the Times reported.  British Home Secretary David Blunkett said he hoped the public would be “reassured” by the exercise (Burns/Milne, Financial Times, Sept. 5).

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United States Will Miss Chemical Weapon Destruction Deadline; Will Seek Extension

The U.S. Defense Department formally announced yesterday that it will not meet a treaty deadline to destroy 45 percent of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile by April 29, 2004 (see GSN, May 7). 

As a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the United States is committed to destroying its stockpile in specific stages, leading to complete destruction by 2007.  The treaty allows parties, however, to request an extension if necessary.

Pentagon officials plan to ask the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to push the 45-percent deadline back to December 2007, according to a Defense Department release. 

As for meeting the final deadline, the release says the United States “has been trying to complete destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile in order to meet the CWC’s final 2007 deadline,” but “there have been significant obstacles.”

The United States has so far destroyed about 23 percent of its chemical weapons stockpile.

The Pentagon release says the obstacles to destruction faced so far include “political and operational issues that forced operational shutdowns or postponed start-up dates.”

Specifically, the Pentagon cited an eight-month investigation at the Tooele Chemical Destruction Facility in Utah, caused by incident in which a worker was exposed to chemical agent (Defense Department release, Sept. 3).

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Officials Discover Leaking Mustard Gas at Deseret Chemical Depot

Authorities last week discovered mustard gas leaking from seven projectiles at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah, the Tooele Transcript Bulletin reported (see GSN, Aug. 19).

Workers found the leaking munitions Aug. 27, sealed them in larger containers and decontaminated the unit.  Another leaking projectile was found two days earlier in the same storage area, according to the Transcript Bulletin.  More than a cup of mustard agent leaked from the munitions before the problem was discovered (Tooele Transcript-Bulletin, Sept. 2).

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Pine Bluff Arsenal Incinerator Conducts Test Burns

Officials at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas last week conducted “shakedown” tests of a component of an incinerator designed to dispose of stockpiles of chemical weapons housed there, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, June 24).

The tests were conducted on one of the incinerator’s three furnaces, AP reported.  The tested furnace, which is scheduled to undergo formal testing this month, is set to be used to dispose of pieces of munitions that contained solid weapons agents.  Another furnace, designed to dispose of metal parts that have been contaminated by chemical agents, will be tested in January, according to Chris West, communications manager for Washington Demilitarization Co., which operates the Pine Bluff incinerator.  Testing has already been completed on an incinerator furnace that will be used to dispose of liquid chemical agents.

The incinerators are on track to begin disposing of real chemical agents next April, arsenal officials said (Greg Giuffrida, Associated Press, Sept. 3).

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Leaks Stall First Effort to Accelerate Chemical Destruction at Anniston

Safety equipment that detected sarin leaks stopped the U.S. Army’s first effort to accelerate the destruction of chemical weapons agents stored at the Anniston depot in Alabama, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Aug. 18).

Workers at the incinerator destroyed about 530 gallons of bulk sarin gas Sunday and are scheduled to burn the remaining 270 gallons later this month, an Army spokesman said yesterday. 

The entire stock was originally scheduled to be destroyed Sunday, but two leaks were detected, and a sarin leak from two weeks ago was confirmed yesterday, according to AP.

“In no way would I characterize it as any failure or any problem,” Army spokesman Mike Abrams said.  “This is what we have characterized as a shakedown period.  There’s no pressure on us to do any specific production,” he added (Associated Press/Raleigh News and Observer, Sept. 2).

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