Destruction of Colorado Chemical Weapons Stockpile Complete

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PU_EndofOps_22June23_OPSEC&SafetyApproved_6188-850×500

Workers at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant pose for a photo before destruction of the final munition in the chemical weapons stockpile stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, on June 22. More than 2,613 U.S. tons of mustard agent were destroyed since agent destruction operations began in March 2015.

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PU_EndofOps_22June23_OPSEC&SafetyApproved_6206-850×500

A control room operator at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant watches as the final munition in the chemical weapons stockpile stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, is destroyed on June 22.

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PU_EndofOps_22June23_OPSEC&SafetyApproved_6228-850×500

A camera at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant captures the final munition in the chemical weapons stockpile stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, as it moves toward destruction on June 22.

Workers at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant pose for a photo before destruction of the final munition in the chemical weapons stockpile stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, on June 22. More than 2,613 U.S. tons of mustard agent were destroyed since agent destruction operations began in March 2015.

A control room operator at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant watches as the final munition in the chemical weapons stockpile stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, is destroyed on June 22.

A camera at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant captures the final munition in the chemical weapons stockpile stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, as it moves toward destruction on June 22.

Workers at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant destroyed the final munition in the stockpile of obsolete chemical weapons stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot.

The final round of the stockpile was safely destroyed June 22, said Walton Levi, site project manager, PCAPP.

“Thanks to the dedication, focus, and persistence of our workforce, we have honored our commitment to destroy the Colorado chemical weapons stockpile,” Levi said.

Plant workers destroyed the last of more than 780,000 mustard agent-filled munitions in the Static Detonation Chamber complex, which augmented the main plant where most of the stockpile was destroyed, Levi said. More than 2,613 U.S. tons of chemical agent were destroyed since agent destruction operations began in March 2015.

“This achievement is a giant step toward the United States’ commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty – the safe and environmentally compliant elimination of weapons of mass destruction,” said Michael Abaie, program executive officer, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives.

“I congratulate everyone who worked to make this happen,” Abaie said. “This would not have been possible without the Pueblo workforce and the community’s support of our program.”

“We are honored to join the previous seven demilitarization sites in completing the destruction of the stored munitions,” said Todd Ailes, project manager, Bechtel Pueblo Team. “Above all and most importantly, we finished the mission safely, which was paramount to successfully completing destruction.”

The U.S. reports destruction of chemical weapons to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, an intergovernmental organization that implements the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty.

The last phase for the Pueblo plant is closure, which program officials say should take three to four years. The other program site is currently destroying the chemical weapon stockpile stored at Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, and they expect to complete their destruction mission in the coming months, Abaie said.