Sarin Alarm Sounded at Anniston Chemical Weapons Disposal Site

Officials at the Anniston chemical weapons incinerator in Alabama evacuated the facility Friday after sensors detected sarin gas in a room that was not supposed to contain the deadly agent (see GSN, Oct. 30).

The alarm rang early Friday morning and workers were evacuated from the 11-room building, according to Donavan Mager, a spokesman for Westinghouse Anniston, the contractor running the facility for the Army. The sarin was detected in a room used for sensor maintenance and facility officials said that no workers were exposed to the gas.

The plant manager is now leading an investigation to determine how the sarin appeared in the room.

“It’s something we’ll, hopefully, uncover in the next few days,” Mager said.

At 8 a.m. Friday — about seven hours after the sarin was detected — the Anniston plant began a rigorous test burn process to prove that it can safely handle the chemical weapons destruction process (Katherine Bouma, Birmingham News, Nov. 8).

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