By Associated Press
Anniston AL – The state fined the Army's chemical weapons incinerator nearly $50,000 for environmental violations at the east Alabama installation, but officials said the problems did not endanger the public.
The citations from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, made public Tuesday, involved violations that ranged from incorrect processing procedures to using equipment that failed to operate properly over the year that ended in August.
An agreement between the Army and state regulators said the incinerator did not release chemical agents or expose workers or the public to danger. But the agency decided operators were not careful enough in trying to prevent the violations.
The state also found that the incinerator "has a history of similar violations." Within the last 65 months, the facility has had six warning letters, six notices of violations and one consent order, according to the report.
The incinerator is destroying tons of Cold War-era chemical weapons that were stored for decades at the Anniston Army Depot.
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Information from: The Anniston Star, http://www.annistonstar.com/