Incinerator starts last round of work

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - The Army's $1 billion chemical weapons incinerator in Alabama has started its final round of work.

A spokesman for the incinerator, located at the Anniston Army Depot, said Friday explosive charges have been removed from more than 60 old mortar shells.

Mustard agent will be drained from the shells and burned. The metal parts from the weapons will be destroyed separately.

The mustard agent is the last of three types of chemical munitions stored in Anniston. Workers previously incinerated tons of two different kinds of deadly nerve agent, VX and sarin.

The last of thousands of weapons filled with mustard agent should be destroyed by early 2012, when workers will then begin decommissioning the complex, located about 50 miles east of Birmingham.