KY army depot destroys toxic chemical weapons. How much of the stockpile remains?
What remained of a stockpile of highly toxic nerve agent at a plant in Madison County was eliminated at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, officials announced Wednesday.
The completed destruction of the weapon – known as VX nerve agent – marks the fourth of five chemical weapons to be destroyed as part of a project that began back in 2019.
“We are celebrating two milestones today,” Candace Coyle, site project manager at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, said in a statement. “First, the entire U.S. stockpile of VX nerve agent is now completely destroyed. Next, this marks the completion of the fourth of five chemical weapons destruction campaigns in Kentucky.”
Destruction of nerve agent VX in M55 rockets began in July 2021. Since then, trained specialists disassembled nearly 18,000 rockets and drained the chemical agent.
Nearly 47% of the original 523 tons of chemical agent has been destroyed, according to officials at the plant. There are still 277 tons of chemical agent safely stored and awaiting destruction at the Blue Grass Army Depot.
Officials said nerve agent VX was neutralized by mixing water and caustic with the chemical to produce hydrolysate. When the agent was destroyed, the hydrolysate was pumped to holding tanks, and shipped via tanker truck to Veolia Environmental Services in Texas for processing.
The drained rocket warheads were packed and placed in temporary storage at the Blue Grass Army Depot, officials said.
“After more than a half century of chemical weapons storage in central Kentucky, the final chapter at Blue Grass Army Depot will soon begin,” Col. Stephen Dorris, a commander at the army depot, said in a statement.
“I take great pride in working with the dedicated professionals at BGCAPP and BGCA and can attest to the safety record and environmental compliance each of these organizations meet.”
The destruction of the final nerve agent will begin in 2023. The agency is on target to complete destruction of all the chemical weapons by the end of 2023, which is the Congressional deadline for complete destruction of the United States’ chemical weapons stockpile.
When the project began in 2019, 523 tons of chemical agents were in need of proper disposal. The project started with the destruction of more than 15,000 155 mm projectiles containing mustard agent from June 2019 to September 2021.
