EG&G Defense Materials Inc., the company that operates the Army's chemical arms incinerator in Tooele County, has won an Air Force subcontract to provide services at another incinerator in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
The contract, valued at up to $40 million, is for services at the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, an incinerator on Johnston Island, 800 miles southwest of Honolulu. Under the five-year agreement, the company will employ about 80 people in the areas of safety, security, environmental compliance, health and fire protection. EG&G will operate the medical clinic at Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, added a written statement from EG&G. The company is part of Raytheon Technical Services.
The Johnston Atoll incinerator was the prototype of the plant currently destroying chemical weapons in the Army's $1 billion incinerator, located near Stockton, Tooele County. The Johnston Atoll plant began its work in 1990 while the Tooele County plant started in 1996. Michael J. Rowe, EG&G's general manager, said in the statement that winning the contract for the country's only other chemical weapons incinerator was like a homecoming. "Many of us EG&G people, myself included, have significant experience from working on Johnston Island," he said.