We, the residents of Calhoun County, now have a clearer picture of how we collectively think about the chemical weapons stored at the Anniston Army Depot and their pending incineration thanks to a survey conducted by students at Texas A&M’s George Bush School of Government and Public Service.Surveys, as we all know, have margins of error but they can shine light on our thinking. Congressman, now gubernatorial candidate, Bob Riley commissioned the survey but his spokesman downplayed its findings. “We aren’t going to use the survey as the basis for any policy decision because it is a school project,” said Pepper Bryars.
That’s smart. But it is interesting to see the results of the work.
The students randomly surveyed more than 700 residents and, for background, interviewed local, state and federal officials.
People in Calhoun County, on average perceive continued storage of chemical weapons to be riskier than incineration with nearly 50 percent choosing incineration as their preferred method of destroying the weapons. Of the remainder, 34 percent want to wait for another destruction method while 17 want to use an alternative method now.
Think of the stockpile as a disease that needs curing. According to the survey, 17 percent of residents want to use an alternative treatment to the disease. They use Pueblo, Colo., as an example. But Pueblo has mustard agent in bulk containers. Think of the situation there like an infected toenail you would treat with Cipro. In this case, the Cipro is neutralization with biodegradation
In Anniston, we have a more complex array of weapons — sarin, VX and mustard packed into M55 rockets, mortar rounds, land mines, bulk tanks and artillery shells. It’s a much more complex disease, like rabies. Right now, our disease can only be cured with a series of immunoglobulin shots — incineration.
We could cure our problem with a shot — incineration — or as 34 percent want to do, we could wait for a candy-coated pill to come along. That treatment may never exist but we currently have a safe, proven and effective cure.
Not to mention that Sept. 11 should have demonstrated the problems with waiting for another method as we sit on 2,253 tons of lethal nerve and blister agents. Just like rabies, the stockpile will only continue to fester while our risk of exposure worsens.
Despite the obfuscation campaign to make people think otherwise, the plurality of Calhoun County residents understand their options and that right now incineration is the best method to eliminate our problem. And residents understand that the disease — the stockpile — needs to be eradicated as soon as possible.
What residents don’t understand is what to do in the event of a chemical weapons accident. Nearly 70 percent don’t know in which emergency zone they live. To listen to the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency, the onus is on the residents to discover that by happenstance.
This is the same agency that wouldn’t participate in a region-wide education campaign and won’t participate in emergency preparedness drills. It would be naïve to think it would become proactive about educating the public and bombard the airwaves and mailboxes with information.
It looks like we will continue in this holding pattern as long as Gov. Don Siegelman keeps filing lawsuits and attempting to stop the incineration process at the behest of powerful special interests. Of course, it behooves him, as well as other candidates, to delay this process until after November and thereby not risk alienating anyone. He is merely delaying action until after the polls have closed.
Like many political decisions, it is detached from the reality of the situation. While he campaigns across the state and projects the image of protecting us, we in Calhoun County must live with this deadly cache of chemical weapons as it festers.
Siegelman needs to quit posturing and realize that its high time to cure this disease.
