CHEMICAL BURN

Well, at least we found WMD somewhere. Sure, in Alabama, but that counts!

And we're planning to dispose of them... by fire!

The locals (Anniston, population: 35,000) aren't impressed. More accurately, they're trying to get an injunction to stop the army from getting their burn on. But it looks like it's no use:

A federal judge Friday turned back an effort to block a planned chemical weapons burn at the Anniston, Alabama, Army Depot.

The burning of about 2,200 tons of chemical weapons just outside the eastern Alabama city was scheduled to begin Wednesday, but the Army agreed to delay until after Friday's hearing on a request by the Chemical Weapons Working Group -- opponents of the burn -- for a temporary restraining order.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson denied that request.

The burn has not yet been rescheduled, said Mike Abrams, spokesman for the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

"At the moment we are in a wait-and-see mode," he said. "... I'm waiting for the Department of the Army to give me the green light. ... I'm waiting for guidance that says that we stand down or that we move forward."

Prior to the judge's hearing, Army spokesman Mike Abrams said that if Jackson sided with the military, trial burns could begin as soon as Saturday.

(snip)

Opponents of the billion-dollar incineration project argue that safety measures, such as the pressurization of county school buildings to keep fumes out, have not yet been completed.

Army officials say that continuing to store the weapons is more dangerous than burning them. More than 800 of the weapons are beginning to leak deadly agents such as the nerve toxins sarin and VX, Army officials have said.

The incinerator, located about 50 miles east of Birmingham, would be the nation's first in a populated area, according to The Associated Press. Emergency planners say about 35,000 people live within nine miles of the plant, which under the Army's plan would destroy some 2,254 tons of nerve agents and mustard gas over seven years.

The residents around the facility considered most at risk have been offered protective hoods, air filters and shelter kits, Army officials said. Warning sirens have been put in place and evacuation routes have been mapped out.

Hmm, VX, that's the one from The Rock.

Disposal of chemical/biological weapons is a very delicate matter, and should be done in an exceedingly cautious matter. For instance, let's say you burn up several drums of sarin. When burned, sarin can release fluorides into the air, which can damage human health significantly over time (source). So for utmost safety, perhaps you also need mechanisms to catch the exhaust from the incineration.

Er... well... have a hood and a little filter! Remember, this is coming from the same government that tells us duct tape will help save you from terrorism.

Reader Alex says that this reveals some government hypocrisy. Indeed, the US seems so concerned with the potential effects of WMD's that might not be there, while being relatively unconcerned about byproducts from the ones that A) do exist and B) we have.