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CNN Live Saturday

U.S. Military Begins Destruction Of Chemical Weapons In Alabama

Aired August 09, 2003 - 14:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. Army faces a massive undertaking at its depot in Anniston, Alabama. It has wrapped up its first day of burning a huge stockpile of chemical weapons, a project that is expected to take seven years. Opponents are raising safety and environmental concerns. Affiliate WVRC Atticus Rollinger joins us from Anniston in Northeastern Alabama with the very latest. Hi Atticus.
ATTICUS ROLLINGER, WVRC CORRESPONDENT: Hi Fredricka, right now the army is just wrapping up the destruction of a second M-55 rocket. The project manager here at the incinerator says it went well as well as this morning's incineration of a chemical weapon which he says was flawless.

Now it took about 13 years to get this incinerator project permitted and built, and took about 36 minutes this morning to destroy one M-55 rocket containing the nerve agent GB, which is also known as seron. The Anniston Army Depot houses thousands of chemical weapons in bunkers, hundred of thousands of tons of GB, VX and Mustard gas. They have been housed here since the 60s. It will take 7 years to destroy them all.

Army officials started with GB rockets because of the 800 plus rockets found to be leaking. More than 700 contain GB. Friday local opponents lost the last minute bid to halt the project when a federal judge in Washington refused to grant a temporary restraining order. The army began transferring 90 rockets to the incinerator shortly after the word came down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM GARRETT, ARMY PROJECT MANAGER: Once those munitions were in that container that the weapons are brought to the plant in, and once it's in the facility, there is almost no risk that remains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROLLINGER: The first rocket was destroyed around 9:45 this morning. Now the actually nerve agent was not burned. It was drained off and collected. And once in about a months time they have collected enough of the nerve agent they will burn that. Today though they did burn the actual housing of the rocket, the explosives, the propellants, it was burned, and what is left over will be collected, boxed up and eventually shipped off to a landfill -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Atticus Rollinger, thanks very much. For more on what the army is doing to insure the safety of Anniston, we turn to Mike Abrams, he is the army public affairs officer for the chemical facility and he is on the telephone with us now from Anniston. Mr. Abrams what have you done to ensure the safety of the residents there. Residents who have already expressed not liking the idea that this incinerator would be put into action.

MIKE ABRAMS, ARMY PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER: There are some people who are nervous over the start of operations here, but the majority of the people that we know that we talk with that we brief are inf fact very supportive of what we are doing here. We have a facility that was specifically designed for the maximum protection of the work force and that means also the maximum protection of the community and the environment. But in addition to what we have done at the plant, the federal emergency management agency is working with Calvin County (ph) and surrounding counties to make sure extra equipment is available in case something happens to chemical weapons while they sit in storage.

WHITFIELD: Are there any -- is there smoke that's emitting from the stacks there at the incinerator?

ABRAMS: There is no smoke in our exhaust stack. Some people may think we are like steel mill, but we have an exhaust stack, and 97 percent of what comes out is steam, air, and carbon dioxide. The other material may be somewhat less in actuality, than a pack of cigarettes, automobiles running in the light.

WHITFIELD: Well isn't there concern from some of the residents, that even in that steam there may be some potentially dangerous fumes that may be coming from that? You might not be able to smell it right away, or feel it right away, but there is some concern from residents that there may be long-term effects?

ABRAMS: There are no long-term effects. We have 13 years of experience doing this, having already incinerated 16 million 214,000 pounds of material at two other sites. We know that there is nothing in the steam, in the exhaust. We are very careful with all the safety equipment and the systems we have, the pollution embankment. We can assure the community that we are not polluting the environment. In fact, the storage of with chemical weapons is 34 times more risky than the operation at the facility.

WHITFIELD: By not restarting this facility, what were the alternatives?

ABRAMS: The alternative was to wait and every day that we have to wait with weapons in storage puts this can community at risk. By starting today, we have started making this community safer because now we have incinerated completely, safely and irreversibly destroyed two rockets, now those are two rockets that will not be a risk to this community any more.

WHITFIELD: Mike Abrams, of the U.S. Army public affairs thanks very much for joining us on the telephone, from Anniston, Alabama.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Alabama>


Aired August 9, 2003 - 14:20   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. Army faces a massive undertaking at its depot in Anniston, Alabama. It has wrapped up its first day of burning a huge stockpile of chemical weapons, a project that is expected to take seven years. Opponents are raising safety and environmental concerns. Affiliate WVRC Atticus Rollinger joins us from Anniston in Northeastern Alabama with the very latest. Hi Atticus.
ATTICUS ROLLINGER, WVRC CORRESPONDENT: Hi Fredricka, right now the army is just wrapping up the destruction of a second M-55 rocket. The project manager here at the incinerator says it went well as well as this morning's incineration of a chemical weapon which he says was flawless.

Now it took about 13 years to get this incinerator project permitted and built, and took about 36 minutes this morning to destroy one M-55 rocket containing the nerve agent GB, which is also known as seron. The Anniston Army Depot houses thousands of chemical weapons in bunkers, hundred of thousands of tons of GB, VX and Mustard gas. They have been housed here since the 60s. It will take 7 years to destroy them all.

Army officials started with GB rockets because of the 800 plus rockets found to be leaking. More than 700 contain GB. Friday local opponents lost the last minute bid to halt the project when a federal judge in Washington refused to grant a temporary restraining order. The army began transferring 90 rockets to the incinerator shortly after the word came down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM GARRETT, ARMY PROJECT MANAGER: Once those munitions were in that container that the weapons are brought to the plant in, and once it's in the facility, there is almost no risk that remains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROLLINGER: The first rocket was destroyed around 9:45 this morning. Now the actually nerve agent was not burned. It was drained off and collected. And once in about a months time they have collected enough of the nerve agent they will burn that. Today though they did burn the actual housing of the rocket, the explosives, the propellants, it was burned, and what is left over will be collected, boxed up and eventually shipped off to a landfill -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Atticus Rollinger, thanks very much. For more on what the army is doing to insure the safety of Anniston, we turn to Mike Abrams, he is the army public affairs officer for the chemical facility and he is on the telephone with us now from Anniston. Mr. Abrams what have you done to ensure the safety of the residents there. Residents who have already expressed not liking the idea that this incinerator would be put into action.

MIKE ABRAMS, ARMY PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER: There are some people who are nervous over the start of operations here, but the majority of the people that we know that we talk with that we brief are inf fact very supportive of what we are doing here. We have a facility that was specifically designed for the maximum protection of the work force and that means also the maximum protection of the community and the environment. But in addition to what we have done at the plant, the federal emergency management agency is working with Calvin County (ph) and surrounding counties to make sure extra equipment is available in case something happens to chemical weapons while they sit in storage.

WHITFIELD: Are there any -- is there smoke that's emitting from the stacks there at the incinerator?

ABRAMS: There is no smoke in our exhaust stack. Some people may think we are like steel mill, but we have an exhaust stack, and 97 percent of what comes out is steam, air, and carbon dioxide. The other material may be somewhat less in actuality, than a pack of cigarettes, automobiles running in the light.

WHITFIELD: Well isn't there concern from some of the residents, that even in that steam there may be some potentially dangerous fumes that may be coming from that? You might not be able to smell it right away, or feel it right away, but there is some concern from residents that there may be long-term effects?

ABRAMS: There are no long-term effects. We have 13 years of experience doing this, having already incinerated 16 million 214,000 pounds of material at two other sites. We know that there is nothing in the steam, in the exhaust. We are very careful with all the safety equipment and the systems we have, the pollution embankment. We can assure the community that we are not polluting the environment. In fact, the storage of with chemical weapons is 34 times more risky than the operation at the facility.

WHITFIELD: By not restarting this facility, what were the alternatives?

ABRAMS: The alternative was to wait and every day that we have to wait with weapons in storage puts this can community at risk. By starting today, we have started making this community safer because now we have incinerated completely, safely and irreversibly destroyed two rockets, now those are two rockets that will not be a risk to this community any more.

WHITFIELD: Mike Abrams, of the U.S. Army public affairs thanks very much for joining us on the telephone, from Anniston, Alabama.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Alabama>