(WASHINGTON) -- (AP) The Newport Chemical Depot in western Indiana will be closed once the V-X nerve agent stored there is destroyed -- but processing the deadly chemical may take longer than the Army previously thought.

The Army had projected the VX would be destroyed by 2008, as required by the Chemical Weapons Treaty.

But an analyst who studied the plan told the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission that it would probably take longer.

Analyst George Delgado says it could be as early as next year or as late as 2012 before all the VX at the depot is processed. Closing the base could take up to another three years.

Delgado says destroying the deadly nerve agent is a complicated process and stringent environmental requirements must be met.

The panel voted to approve closing the base within the new timeline.