Kentucky chemical weapons disposal program nearly done as US eliminates final stockpiles

By DYLAN LOVAN
Associated Press

RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky facility built to dispose of deadly Cold War-era chemical weapons is nearing the end of its mission to destroy its 520-ton stockpile. Officials on Wednesday said the milestone will likely mark the end of chemical weapons destruction projects in the U.S. The facility at the Blue Grass Army Depot is weeks away from eliminating the last of a stockpile of 51,000 M55 rockets with GB nerve agent that have been stored at the depot since the 1940s. The GB nerve agent, also known as sarin, is outlawed under international rules of warfare. Another stockpile is being eliminated at an Army facility in Colorado, but that effort is expected to conclude before the Kentucky one.