A new foundation plans to begin educating area residents about the Anniston Army Depot's chemical weapons stockpile and the incinerator intended to destroy it.
Named the "Dangerous Chemicals Awareness Foundation," the group is headed by Rev. Freddy Rimpsey.
Rimpsey said he wanted to start the group to educate the residents of all the counties about the stockpile and its destruction. In poorer areas, he said, residents know little about the incinerator, and traditional means to reach them have not worked.
He intends to go door-to-door if need be.
"We're not here to hit a panic button," he said. "Let us do a better job of getting the news to the public."
The Alabama Emergency Management Agency has an education campaign under way in St. Clair, Talladega, Cleburne, Clay and Etowah Counties. Calhoun County is not participating because emergency planning officials say they do not know what to tell the public to do until they get more information and support from the federal government.
Calhoun County has an evacuation plan in the event of an accident at the depot, but a 1999 study by the consulting firm Integrated Emergency Management said evacuation by itself would not work.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has said that the county needs to use sheltering-in-place in addition to evacuation. Sheltering in place calls for residents to barricade themselves in an interior room and use duct tape and plastic to seal the door and any windows.
Rimpsey did not get into the specifics of his group's education plan. However, the charter for the Dangerous Chemicals Awareness Foundation says it "shall create a complete and effective system of evacuation of such residents in the event of any catastrophic occurrence that could threaten the lives or health of any persons residing in the previously stated Alabama counties."
In addition to alerting residents of their proximity to the stockpile and incinerator, Rimpsey said he wants to educate people about the types of weapons stored at the depot and the effects of the incinerating the weapons.
Delois Champ, spokeswoman for the Calhoun County EMA, said "We'll be happy to provide any information they need to any community."
Dan Civis, head of FEMA's Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, said that his agency would be willing to work with the Dangerous Chemicals Awareness Foundation as well to help them educate the public.
The county's unwillingness to join the education campaign with the other counties has been a bone of contention between local and federal officials.
Civis said he hopes Rimpsey will talk with FEMA's local liaison, Don Cornell, to discuss any education surrounding emergency preparedness and to explain FEMA's emphasis on sheltering-in-place.
Rimpsey said the first task of his group is to find and contact those people who know little about the chemical weapons stockpile, the incinerator and emergency preparations.
