Anniston Army Depot

Anniston Army Depot is a major United States Army facility for the production and repair of ground combat vehicles, overhaul of Small Arms Weapon Systems and the storage of chemical weapons, a.k.a. the Anniston Chemical Activity. The depot is located in Bynum, Alabama. It was placed on the NPL Superfundlist in 1990 because of soil and groundwater contamination with antimony, chromium, lead, thallium and trichloroethylene.GeographyThe depot is located in Calhoun County, Alabama, 10 miles west of Anniston. It covers 25sqmi of land, or 15,200-acres. Its northern side is the Pelham Range portion of Fort McClellan. The central and northern portions of the Depot span over 13,000-acres and serve as an ammunition storage area. The southern side of the Depot is the Southeastern Industrial Area (SIA), a 600-acre industrial operations area with more than 50 buildings and a vehicle test track.DescriptionAs of 2014, the Depot employs 3,400 civilian workers. Tanks and other equipment are repaired and tested, but historically Anniston's main role since World War II has been as a major munitions storage site. Anniston is one of seven depots in the United States where chemical weapons are stored (7.2% of nation's chemical weapons stockpile). The stockpile has included rockets, bombs, projectiles, and land mines armed with Sarin, VX nerve agent, or mustard gas. The last chemical munitions were destroyed in September 2011.