LOCAL NEWS

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Chemical weapons incinerator employee dies on job

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

05-12-08

A subcontractor working at the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility died while on duty Wednesday afternoon.

The cause of death for the employee, whose name could not be released pending notification of the family, has not yet been released but it was not related to industrial or chemical agents, said ANCDF spokesman Mike Abrams.

The employee's death did not occur in the chemical laboratory, he said.

According to Abrams, the employee worked for Battelle, a subcontractor that carries out a variety of duties for Westinghouse.

Timothy K. Garrett, ANCDF site project manager, said in a press release, "We are all grieving the loss of one of our co-workers. We will do everything possible to console the family and to help each other cope with this terrible news."

Abrams said the facility was not processing chemical munitions at the time of the employee's death. The facility is in a maintenance and changeover phase preparing for the next chemical munition disposal involving VX-filled M23 land mines, said the release.

It is too early to speculate about the effect the employee's death will have on operations, said Abrams.

"We want to make sure the family and our co-workers are taken care of first," he said.

Once a cause of death is established and released, officials will determine whether an investigation is necessary, he said.