Question: Where is the depot?

Answer: Just southeast of Richmond and about 30 miles south of downtown Lexington.

Q. What kinds of chemical weapons are stored there?

A: There are two kinds of nerve agent, VX and GB, and mustard agent that the Army calls H. They are stored in large buildings called igloos, which are partially underground.

Q. How dangerous is this nerve gas?

A. Actually, the terms "mustard gas" and "nerve gas" are misnomers. The chemicals are liquids at most temperatures.

Q. Which is the most dangerous?

A. VX is less volatile than GB but more lethal. Both are chemically similar to pesticides.

GB was synthesized by a German scientist in 1936, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is odorless and evaporates quickly. It is better known as sarin.

The depot has more than 51,700 M55 rockets loaded with GB, plus nearly 4,000 8-inch projectiles and one 1-ton container of dilute GB.

VX was synthesized by a British scientist in the early 1950s. It is a clear, amber-colored, oily liquid.

VX is considered one of the world's most lethal chemicals. Exposure to a tiny amount can cause death within minutes.

The depot has more than 17,700 VX rockets and more than 12,800 projectiles.

Mustard agent, which causes blistering, can quickly penetrate the skin. It's considered a carcinogen. The depot stores almost 15,500 155 mm projectiles of mustard agent.

Q. How long have the chemicals been there?

A: Mustard agent began arriving during World War II. VX and GB arrived in the 1960s.

Q. Haven't they already been transported once, then?

A. Yes, by rail. But they're much older now, and presumably much less stable.

Q. Is anything stored at the depot besides chemical weapons?

A: Actually, chemical weapons make up only a small part of what's there. The depot has 49 igloos for chemical weapons and 852 igloos for conventional weapons, with more stored outside.

Q. How are they protected from terrorists?

A. The 14,596 acres of the depot are ringed by fences topped with barbed wire. The grounds are heavily patrolled. Beyond that, the Army would rather not say.

Q. How are the depot's neighbors protected?

A. The government has spent more than $35 million on the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Management Program in Madison and surrounding counties.

More than 17,000 tone-alert radios, which emit ear-piercing beeps, have been distributed to warn of potential leaks. There are 29 state-of-the-art warning sirens.

About 12,000 shelter-in-place kits, with plastic sheeting, duct tape, scissors and an ominous videotape, have been sent out as well.

Every household gets an emergency preparedness calendar each year.

Local officials also have the ability to take over the signals of radio and television broadcasts in case of an emergency.

Q. What does the neutralization plant mean to the local economy?

A. The $2 billion project would have an enormous impact. Between 600 and 1,000 workers would be hired to build it, and 600 to 700 highly paid workers would operate it.