Workforce members observed another chemical weapons destruction milestone at the Blue Grass plant May 2, with the destruction of 75% of the GB nerve agent rockets.
“Reaching the 75% mark is a credit to the men and women who’ve worked so hard to safely and efficiently achieve another historic step and puts us closer to the end,” said Dr. Candace Coyle, site project manager, Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.
“It’s great to reach the 75% destruction mark,” said Scott Holladay, deputy operations manager, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass. “This shows the entire BGCAPP team continues to improve as we work toward our end goal: 100% destruction of the stockpile. For the next few months, we will remain focused on safe and compliant operations until all the rockets are gone.”
The Blue Grass plant team began destroying chemical weapons in June 2019. As of April 28, more than 86% of the original 523.4 tons of chemical agent stored in Kentucky has been destroyed.
The latest milestone comes less than 10 months after the first GB M55 rocket was drained and destroyed on July 7, 2022, and less than three months after workers crossed the 50% threshold on Feb. 17. Crews continue to adjust the rocket-processing lines to improve efficiency and maintain high safety standards while meeting destruction goals.
The GB M55 rockets, which made up more than half of the stockpile in Kentucky, is the last munitions destruction campaign at the Blue Grass facility. Plant staff use the term campaign to describe the destruction of a particular type of chemical munition.
Previously, the Blue Grass team destroyed 155mm projectiles containing mustard agent using the Explosive Destruction Technology and 8-inch projectiles containing GB nerve agent, 155mm projectiles containing VX nerve agent and M55 rockets containing VX nerve agent in the main plant.
The U.S. commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty requires chemical weapons stockpile destruction by Sept. 30, 2023. U.S. public law mandates stockpile destruction by Dec. 31, 2023.
