[CPEO-MEF] Alabama community left with chemical relics

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Posted on Mon, Dec. 09, 2002
Alabama community left with chemical relics
JAY REEVES
Associated Press

STEELE, Ala. - Ever since an unexploded shell containing a potentially
deadly chemical agent turned up in a pasture next to Debbie and Paul
Duncan's home, the couple has been plagued with nagging questions.

"What if we had built our house on that?" asked Debbie Duncan, who has
two children and also cares for foster children.

But the Army hasn't provided many answers in the 56 years since it
abandoned Camp Sibert, the nation's largest chemical weapons school
during World War II.

The Army sold the nearly 38,000-acre base for a few dollars per acre
after removing tons of debris, though they didn't take all the trash.

The Duncans unknowingly built their home in 1996 on land that was once
part of an artillery range. In August, they discovered the unexploded
shell containing phosgene, which can choke people to death. The shell,
21 inches long and 4 1/2 inches in diameter, apparently failed to
detonate after being fired more than 50 years ago.

"Why would they just leave it here all these years?" she asked.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/4699434.htm

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