After decades of debate, funding decisions, and modifications destruction of chemical weapons stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot is slated to start this June. It will begin with disposal of mustard agent with nerve munition demilitarization scheduled to start in the fall. Media members Thursday were given a day long demonstration of the process.
Blue Grass Chemical Activity Commander Rodney McCutchen said he’s one of a long line of army commanders involved in the disposal program. “All that hard work that they did. All the interaction that they’ve had with the public, with all the news media, like we’re doing now. All that hard work has finally come to a point where we’re finally getting to do our mission, the end of our mission, which is destroying these chemical weapons, taking them off of the face of the earth,” said McCutchen
In doing so, it will mark compliance with an international treaty to dispose of all chemical weapons. The Madison County installation will be the last depot in the country to dispose of munitions.
A static detonation chamber will be used to dispose of mustard agent. Plant Support Specialist Terry Staggs says it won’t be explosive. “Normally you would think that we would get a detonation with it, but because of the insulation effect of the agent itself, it expels the burster and literally the agent burns,” said Staggs.
Staggs says the chamber is heated to 1000 degrees. The demilitarization of mustard agent is expected to take about eleven months.
Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass Site Project Manager Jeff Brubaker talks with WEKU's Stu Johnson about the neutralization process for nerve agent stored at the Depot.
Craig Williams, co-chair of the Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board, spoke with Stu Johnson about his interest in the Depot disposal process since the early 1980's.
