The Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is safely destroying the remaining U.S. chemical weapons stockpile located in Colorado and Kentucky. The U.S. must destroy all the chemical weapons it possesses as a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, a multilateral arms control treaty that entered into force in 1997.

Destruction of mustard agent-filled munitions at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, or PCAPP, in Colorado began in the main plant on Sept. 7, 2016. The Pueblo plant is destroying 2,613 U.S. tons of mustard agent in mortars and, formerly, projectiles stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot. An Explosive Destruction System augmented the heavily automated facility from 2015 to 2018 to destroy problematic chemical munitions that could not be easily processed through the main plant. Static Detonation Chamber technology was selected to destroy the remaining problematic munitions at the Pueblo plant. Static Detonation Chamber operations began Feb. 19, 2022.

In Kentucky, the Blue Grass Chemical-Agent Destruction Pilot Plant began operations on Jan. 17, 2020. The Blue Grass plant is destroying 523 U.S. tons of mustard and nerve agent in rockets and, formerly, projectiles stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot. A Static Detonation Chamber was selected to augment main plant operations and began destruction of mustard agent-filled munitions on June 7, 2019, and completed destruction Sept. 4, 2021, marking the end of all mustard agent and projectiles in the stockpile in Kentucky. Static Detonation Chamber units also process containerized, drained and undrained rocket warheads and overpacked munitions to augment main plant destruction.

All chemical agent from the remaining U.S. chemical weapons stockpile located in Colorado and Kentucky is targeted to be destroyed by the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty commitment of Sept. 30, 2023. U.S. Public Law mandates stockpile destruction by Dec. 31, 2023.

For more information, contact the PEO ACWA Public Affairs Office at (410) 306-4024.