 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Search Archives | ||
| Advanced Search | ||
| Extras | ||
• Announcements |
||
Online Poll |
||
| Advertisers | ||
|
||
News ARSENAL: OUTSIDE WEAPONS UNLIKELY By Jonesetta Lassiter/SPECIAL TO THE COMMERCIAL While the Pine Bluff Arsenal’s success in destroying its stockpiled chemical weapons placed it on a Department of Defense list for consideration to receive chemical weapons from other facilities, the likelihood of that occurring appears remote. A Pentagon plan to study the possibility of transporting stockpiled chemical weapons across state lines from Colorado and Kentucky to meet a 2017 congressional deadline to destroy those weapons has drawn criticism from some in Congress and watchdog groups. However, Pryor cautioned that safety and cost would be deciding factors in determining whether any shipments would occur. The mayors of White Hall and Pine Bluff would welcome the additional work for the arsenal, but both agreed that safety must be paramount. “I don’t want them to be transporting anything that’s dangerous,” White Hall Mayor James “Jitters” Morgan said Friday. “But if they have something that’s not dangerous, we would welcome it. I put my trust in the arsenal because they always put safety first, and I don’t think they would ever do anything that would put our citizens in danger. They’ve been good neighbors for more than 60 years.” “First and foremost, I agree with most members of Congress that this thing be done safely and in accordance with the law,” Pine Bluff Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. said. Congress enacted legislation in 2005 banning interstate transportation of chemical weapons because of the dangers of spills and terrorist attacks. “If a decision is made to rescind the law, the Pine Bluff Arsenal is very capable of destroying such weapons,” Redus said. “But it will be necessary to find a safe and cost-efficient way to ship across state lines.” The chemical demilitarization program is the result of congressional action to comply with a 1997 treaty banning chemical weapons. Acknowledging that the United States could not meet a 2012 deadline set by the International Chemical Weapons Convention, Congress set Dec. 31, 2017, as the final date to complete destruction of such weapons. The final VX nerve agent-filled landmine was destroyed June 20 at the Arsenal, moving the facility a step closer to eliminating stockpiled chemical weapons, officials announced June 23. The inventory of VX-filled landmines was 9,378, containing approximately 94,000 pounds of VX nerve agent. Destruction of the mines marked the end of the third of four disposal campaigns at the facility. On June 23, Mark Greer, site project manager for the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, said the final phase of disposal would involve the elimination of one-ton containers of mustard agent. “We have about six months to prepare for this transition, then we’re scheduled for a three year campaign,” David Reber, project general manager for the Army’s Pine Bluff Chemical Demilitarization Facility, said recently. The Defense Department report said elimination of the Colorado stockpile by the 2017 date “appears possible, but the confidence of accomplishing this goal remains under study.” Of the Kentucky stockpile, it reported meeting the deadline does not appear possible. It showed that two alternative destruction technologies would be needed in Kentucky — explosive destruction for mustard-filled weapons and a neutralization process for the remaining stockpile. Increases in staffing at both sites for the construction phases, early start of the systemization phases and around-the-clock operations for the destruction phase would be necessary to get as close as practical to meeting the 2017 deadline. Calls seeking comment at the arsenal Friday were not immediately returned. The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
Copyright © 2009 Stephens Media, LLC