Chemical weapons disposal work at the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama was curbed Tuesday by a small fire and mustard agent spill during dismantlement of a munition, the U.S. Army said (see GSN, Nov. 15, 2006).
The incident occurred at 2 p.m. while robot machinery was being used in an explosion containment room to extract a mortar fuse and burster from a 4.2-inch mortar containing the blister agent.
"A flame was detected where the equipment grips the fuse and burster to rotate and remove them. The small flame lasted approximately 10-15 seconds," according to a press release from the Army Chemical Materials Agency. "There was no explosion."
The event caused no injuries and posed no threat to Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility personnel, nearby residents or the environment, the release states.
Disposal operations at the plant were halted immediately after the incident but resumed within a matter of hours using the site's other dismantlement line, according to spokesman Michael Abrams. The facility was expected to resume normal operations by within five days, after personnel sealed the mortar, mopped up the mustard agent and cleansed the affected area.
Anniston began destroying mustard-agent weapons in July and so far has eliminated 42,683 mortars and 20,234 gallons of material.
The disposal plant began operations in 2003. To date it has destroyed nearly 405,000 munitions and more than 313,000 gallons of nerve and mustard agents.
Roughly 65 percent of the entire U.S. chemical stockpile has been destroyed (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Oct. 21).
Complete disposal of mustard agent stored at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon could occur by January 2011 or possibly closer to the end of that year, the Hermiston Herald reported yesterday.
Work crews as of this week had disposed of 5.7 percent of Umatilla's mustard agent stockpile. A total of 151 bulk containers have been eliminated, leaving slightly less than 2,500 (Karen Hutchinson-Talaski, Hermiston Herald, Oct. 21).