The Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky is continuing the disposal of three bulk containers once filled with sarin nerve agent, the Eastern Progress reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 19, 2008).
Operation Swift Solution began last year after one of the containers was found to have sprung a leak. Workers last month completed the first phase of work, chemical neutralization of the nerve agent.
The second phase, begun Jan. 5, involves putting the containers into the chemical agent transfer system, which cleanse them of any leftover chemical residue. All but 10 percent of this phase is complete, but Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program spokeswoman Kathy DeWeese declined to say when work would be finished. Workers would then bisect the containers and send them off-site for recycling.
The third phase of the project would be burning the project's hazardous waste at an incinerator in Port Arthur, Texas (Ben Kleppinger, Eastern Progress, Jan. 15).
Meanwhile, the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Alabama faces a possible $61,500 state fine, the Anniston Star reported yesterday.
The penalty would result from nine operating violations reported last year to the state by the incineration plant. Violations included an error that resulted in an air-monitoring station being left off-line for nearly 24 hours, failure by personnel on one day to check air-monitoring technology as often as mandated, and failure to notify the Alabama Environmental Management Department that the facility's operational name was not the one listed on its state permit.
Nearby residents faced no threats from the mistakes, said disposal facility project manager Tim Garrett.
"These are all self-reported. We take compliance and community safety very seriously. That's why we're open and honest," he said.
The fine would be imposed after a 30-day comment period. The Anniston plant has previously been fined $2,500 and $50,000 (Nick Cenegy, Anniston Star, Jan. 15).