The second of three chemical weapons destruction campaigns completed in Pueblo
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) team completed the destruction of more than 383,000 mustard agent-filled 105mm projectiles on July 20.
The PCAPP says that a campaign refers to the destruction of a particular type of chemical munition.
According to the PCAPP, the projectiles are the second of three munitions destruction campaigns that will be destroyed at the Pueblo Chemical Depot (PCD).
The PCD originally stored three different kinds of mustard-filled weapons – two types of projectiles, 155mm and 105mm, and 4.2-inch mortar rounds. The final destruction campaign of 4.2-inch mortar rounds is currently underway.
The PCAPP says that the projectiles were destroyed under trained operators that used advanced robotic technologies. The projectiles were drained and neutralized. The mustard agent in the projectiles was neutralized and the resulting product, known as hydrolysate, is broken down into salt, water, and organics using living microbes in a biotreatment process.
“Thanks to the dedication of our committed team, with every munition, destroyed at PCAPP we are
making the Pueblo community and the nation safer,” said Walton Levi, site project manager,
PCAPP. “We have applied the lessons we learned destroying munitions at this site since 2015, which
helped us achieve maximum productivity and complete destruction of these projectiles sooner than we
anticipated. This has truly been a commendable team effort from everyone here at the depot.”
According to the PCAPP, approximately 54 of the 105mm projectiles were deemed unsuitable for automated processing and will be destroyed later using the Static Detonation Chamber complex.
The PCAPP says that chemical weapon destruction operations began in March 2015, when more than 780,000 munitions comprised the original chemical weapons stockpile stored at PCD. As of July 20, approximately 94,000 munitions remain.
