A joint army-federal Emergency Management Agency program to help states respond to emergencies at eight planned Army chemical weapons disposal facilities has been so poorly managed and coordinated that thousands of people living near three of the sites are at risk in the event of an accident, according to a General Accounting Office (GAO) report.

Of 10 states affected by the disposal facilities, Alabama, Indiana, and Kentucky are the least prepared to respond to emergencies. GAO notes that any delay in achieving full preparedness could delay start-up of disposal operations in these states, potentially costing the Army millions of dollars. Additionally, GAO warns, such delays could imperil the U.S.'s ability to meet the Chemical Weapons Convention's 2007 deadline for disposal of all weapons.

The Anniston, Ala., disposal facility has been built and is targeted to begin burning more than 2,200 tons of chemical agent in fall 2002. But the facility cannot begin operations without a state-issued permit. Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman has indicated in a letter to President George W. Bush that he likely will not issue a permit "until all critical preparedness and safety issues for our state are resolved."

Construction of a neutralization facility--not an incinerator--at Newport, Ind., is under way but won't be completed until the summer of 2003 at the earliest, says Greg Mahall, a spokesman for the Army's chemical disposal program. He also says a decision on how to dispose of the chemical stockpile at Blue Grass, Ky., won't be made until fall 2002.

"Officially, the Army remains committed to meeting the 2007 deadline," Mahall says. But, he acknowledges, operational delays at those three sites and no decision yet on a disposal technology at Blue Grass place the U.S. at risk of not being able to meet the 2007 deadline.

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