Workers move the last two ton containers of lewisite blister agent into the Area 10 Liquid Incinerator for destruction Jan. 17. The small stockpile of lewisite at Deseret Chemical Depot (DCD) was the only stockpile in the United States. This movement of munitions was the last for DCD, marking the end of nearly 70 years of storing chemical weapons.
The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (CMA) completed destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile at Deseret Chemical Depot (DCD), UT, on Jan. 21.
With the elimination of the Utah chemical weapons stockpile, CMA has safely destroyed nearly 90 percent of the Nation’s stockpile of chemical agent and has successfully completed its mission to destroy all chemical agent munitions and items declared at entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and assigned to CMA for destruction. The CWC, an international treaty ratified by the United States in April 1997, required the complete destruction of the Nation’s chemical weapons stockpile by April 2007. The United States was granted a five-year extension to April 2012, as allowed by the treaty.
“Completing destruction of this stockpile mission is a worthy and important accomplishment,” said Secretary of the Army John McHugh. “This demonstrates our commitment to the elimination of chemical weapons, enhancing safety and security for our workforce, our communities, and the nation.”
The safe destruction of 27,473.65 U.S. tons of nerve and blister agents represents 89.75 percent of the Nation’s chemical agent stockpile and is the culmination of more than 20 years of work by thousands of men and women at seven chemical demilitarization facilities around the Nation.
“CMA’s workforce—government and contractor—has shown the utmost dedication to our mission,” said CMA Director Conrad Whyne. “Many of them have committed their professional lives to chemical weapons disposal. It was only through their dedication and expertise that CMA and the Army were able to complete this mission.”
The completion of CMA’s chemical stockpile elimination mission was accomplished at the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (TOCDF) at DCD. The TOCDF was CMA’s last operating chemical demilitarization facility. CMA’s previously completed chemical agent destruction operations are:
- 2000— Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System, South Pacific (closed).
- 2005—Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, MD (closed).
- 2008—Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, IN (closed).
- 2010—Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, AR (closure in progress).
- 2011—Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, AL (closure in progress).
- 2011—Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, OR (closure in progress).
On Jan. 11, DCD workers delivered the last of the mustard munitions to the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (TOCDF) at DCD for destruction. Here, TOCDF workers guide the forklift operator as he unloads the last overpacked 155mm mustard projectiles from the transport truck to place them onto the facility’s conveyor system. The crated projectiles will make their way through the disposal process, which will represent complete destruction of DCD’s mustard stockpile.
“The safe destruction of more than 2.2 million chemical nerve and blister agent munitions and bulk containers at seven demilitarization facilities is a remarkable accomplishment for the CMA workforce at each site and systems contractors who operated each facility,” said Heidi Shyu, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. “It also is a tribute to the cooperative spirit of the local officials, regulators, and communities. Reaching this milestone has been a team effort—a team I’m proud to be part of.”
CMA continues to provide ongoing assessment and destruction of recovered chemical warfare materiel through its Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Project.
CMA also retains the mission to safely and securely store the chemical agent stockpiles at Richmond, KY, and Pueblo, CO. Those stockpiles will be destroyed by the U.S. Army Element Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA), a separate DoD program. CMA will continue its partnership with ACWA to share the lessons learned from its successful chemical stockpile elimination program. CMA will also continue to manage the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, a joint Army/Federal Emergency Management Agency effort that provides emergency preparedness assistance to the communities surrounding chemical weapon stockpiles.
For more information, including video and audio clips, visit http://www.cma.army.mil/cse_end_of_ops.aspx.
—CMA Public Affairs Office
Subscribe to Access AL&T is the premier online news source for the Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (AL&T) Workforce.
Subscribe
