First Portion of Deadly Nerve Gas Destroyed

The Army destroyed about 530 gallons of sarin nerve agent in Anniston in the first bulk burn of the lethal chemical at the Army’s newest weapons incinerator, and the remaining 270 or so gallons are to be destroyed later this month, an Army spokesman said.

The Army had expected the 15 1/2-hour burn, which began Sunday and ended early Monday, to consume the entire 800 gallons of sarin drained from rockets. Because it did not, workers will be “fine-tuning” the incinerator during the next burn in about three weeks to make it more efficient, Army spokesman Mike Abrams said.

Sarin, also known as “GB,” is a nerve agent so deadly a drop on the skin can kill. The chemical was drained from 900 M55 rockets that have been chopped up and incinerated.