The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency announced today that it has eliminated 2 million chemical agent-filled munitions since the international Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in 1997 (see GSN, June 5, 2008).
(Oct. 6) -
Workers at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah in 2003 prepare a pallet of VX agent-filled rockets for transport for destruction at the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. The U.S. Army today said it has eliminated 2 million chemical warfare munitions since 1997 (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency photo).
"The professional, dedicated government and contract workers at all of our locations are making great strides to safely eliminate our chemical weapons stockpile, making our nation and the world safer," said CMA Director Conrad Whyne said in a press release.
The United States is among the 188 nations that have signed the pact that prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, use or proliferation of warfare materials such as mustard blister agent and the nerve agents sarin and VX.
Chemical warfare material stockpiles at Aberdeen, Md., Newport, Ind., and the Johnston Atoll have all been safely destroyed. The Army is continuing disarmament operations at depots in Alabama, Arkansas, Oregon and Utah, while another Pentagon agency is set to manage disposal of weapons stored in Colorado and Kentucky (see GSN, Aug. 26).
The Army eliminated roughly 226,000 chemical-filled munitions before the pact's entry into force, according to CMA spokesman Greg Mahall. Another 1.2 million weapons remain to be destroyed, he said.
The service expects to meet the April 2012 disposal deadline established by the convention. Work by the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program could continue through 2021, according to current estimates (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Oct. 6).