Pueblo Chemical Depot to begin stockpile destruction in March

The U.S. Pueblo Chemical Depot will begin destroying its stockpile of mustard agent this March.

The depot houses 2,611 tons of mustard agent, which is about 8 percent of the nation’s original chemical weapons. Those munitions include 105 mm cartridges, 155 mm projectiles and a 4.2-inch mortar shell.

About 780,000 munitions are stored at the depot. In March, employees will begin by destroying an estimated 1,360 munitions that have been drilled or have leaks. Those munitions, which make up less than 1 percent of the depot’s stockpile, will go through a stainless steel blast chamber, where they’ll be cut in half so the mustard agent can be removed.

“Once we’ve opened up the munition, then we pump in chemical neutralants which destroy the chemical agent,” said Steve Bird, who’s leading the emergency destruction system project. Six munitions can be destroyed daily through that process.

The majority of the depot’s munitions will begin being demolished by the end of this year or early next year. About 550 munitions will be destroyed daily through a neutralization and bio-treatment process.

Employees are currently training for worst-case scenarios — mustard agent dating back to World War II being released into the atmosphere.

“The likelihood of agent vapor going off the installation is very slim. There would have to be some extremely unusual weather phenomenon to cause a vapor cloud to leave the installation,” said Lt. Col. Michael Quinn, commander of the Pueblo Chemical Depot.

The 23,000-acre installation in Pueblo County holds the largest chemical stockpile in the country. Mustard agent is hazardous to handle and causes serious blistering of the skin.

“The United States is committed to ridding the world of chemical warfare material. This is the last 10 percent of the U.S. chemical stockpile,” Bird said.

Quinn said the depot is on track to finish destroying chemical weapons by 2019.