Army Destroys Recovered Chemical Warfare Material

The Army says it has completed disposal work on “nonstockpile” chemical weapon-related materials that were declared when the U.S. joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997, the year the pact entered into force. The milestone marks the destruction of more than 1,200 munitions, according to the Army’s Chemical Materials Agency. Nonstockpile chemical material includes chemical weapons recovered from burial sites and former production plants. The Army began the disposal project at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, in Arkansas, in June 2006. The weapons, including 4.2-inch mortars and German Traktor rockets captured through World War II, were destroyed using the Army’s self-contained steel chamber Explosive Destruction System. Developed as an alternative to open detonation, the transportable system allows on-site treatment and neutralization of recovered chemical warfare material and prevents the release of blast, vapor, and metal fragments, the Army says. Operators then confirm neutralization of the chemical agent by sampling liquid and air in the chamber before opening it.