Chemical Weapon Stockpile Destruction: Pueblo, CO

PCAPP Map

In May 2006, “US Chemical Demilitarization: Expansion and Update” explained the underlying structure of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency’s programs to safely store and dispose of chemical weapons. The CMA is responsible for a number of locations, each of which has its own prime contractor. Prime contractors hold the design, build, operation and closure portions of the contract, while subcontractors to the prime contractors vary by site. “Nerve Gas Stockpile Destruction at NECD in Newport, IN” shone a spotlight on one site’s efforts and contracts.

The U.S. Army’s Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado is another such site, which currently stores 2,611 tons of mustard agent contained in 155mm and 105mm artillery shells, and 4.5″ mortar shells. Decontamination is supervised by the PM Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA), using a biochemical process rather than incineration; the CMA is still responsible for safe storage until the munitions can be decontaminated. This article discusses mustard agent’s effects and place in the history of warfare, and takes a look at the efforts underway to destroy the Pueblo stockpile between 2015-2023. An effort that recently featured a contract worth over half a billion dollars…

• Mustard Gas: A Quick Primer
  
• The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP)
  
• Contracts and Key Events
  
• Additional Readings
  

Nerve Gas Stockpile Destruction at NECD in Newport, IN

NECD
(click to view larger)

During the 1960s, the Newport Chemical Depot (NECD) in Indiana produced the nerve agent VX until a unilateral decree halted American (but not Soviet) production and transportation of all chemical weapons. In the aftermath of 9/11, the US Department of Defense re-evaluated their chemical weapons disposal program, looking at where they might accelerate destruction of the USA’s stockpile in order to remove potential targets.

The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency has a number of storage and disposal sites, each of which has its own prime contractor. Prime contractors hold the design, build, operation and closure portions of the contract, while subcontractors to the prime contractors vary by site. This post covers the still-ongoing work at Newport, Indiana. The following is a list of the prime contractors at each CMA disposal site: