Army pitches changes to weapons destruction plan
ANCDF officials held a public meeting Tuesday evening to answer questions about the changes at the Anniston Chemical Demilitarization Community Outreach office. Questions were hard to come by, however — no area residents attended the meeting. “Even if these (adjustments) are smart and pragmatic, they require a modification request,” explained Tim Garrett, site project manager for the disposal facility. In total, five requests will be submitted to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management ADEM. ANCDF officials will accept public commentary about the proposal for the next two weeks before submitting the requests. One of the requests proposes changes to the facility’s waste analysis plan. Regulations stipulate that decontaminated protective suits and tools exposed to toxic material must be burned on-site at the incinerator. But Garrett said a modification would allow these items to be transported to an off-site hazardous waste incinerator in a cargo truck “just like any other hazardous waste.” “It’s an extra burden on the plant besides processing agents,” Garrett said. “Processing agent is job number one.” Another modification would allow destruction of the facility’s brine reduction area and a related pollution abatement system. Garrett said the system is intended to treat corrosive gases released from chemical agent, but an off-site sodium hydroxide system works better and is more cost effective. The remaining modifications allow moving waste from the incinerator’s metal parts furnace after a loss of furnace capabilities, and provision allowing less-frequent changes of carbon canisters in the agent collection system. The canisters were changed monthly during the destruction of GB nerve agent, he said, but VX and mustard agent are more stable. Changing the box more frequently then necessary exposes workers to more risk, he said. Jim Martin, deputy site project manager, said the final modification, to deactivate the furnace agent trial burn plan, will allow VX mines to be processed at the same speed as rockets. All the modifications have been approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After submitting the proposals, Garrett said he expects to hear back from ADEM officials in a month or two. The VX campaign is slated to be finished in late 2008, with the last chemical munitions scheduled to be destroyed in late 2010. |
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