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By Peter Mathews

CENTRAL KENTUCKY BUREAU

RICHMOND - A new study by a panel of prominent scientists says the Army and contractor Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass appear to have developed a safe and effective plan to destroy chemical weapons at Blue Grass Army Depot.

The report from the National Research Council notes that many technical issues remain unresolved. But some of those issues have been addressed since the information was gathered.

"I see it as a very positive report," said Craig Williams, co-chairman of the local citizens' advisory board. "There were no real surprises and no show-stoppers. It's basically what I would have expected."

Plans call for a $2 billion plant to be built at the depot to chemically neutralize its 523-ton stockpile of nerve and blister agents.

The study noted that the processes involved never have been used together, so a prolonged period of testing is needed.

And the operating schedule is "probably unrealistic" for a first-of-its-kind plant, it said.

The United States faces an April 2012 deadline for disposing of its chemical weapons. Local officials have said delays in funding have put them about a year behind schedule.

The report also called for a change in the way rockets containing chemical agent would be cut open. However, fires at other chemical weapons disposal sites prompted officials to begin studying a change months ago.

Katherine DeWeese, a spokeswoman for the federal agency overseeing the destruction of munitions at the Richmond depot and in Pueblo, Colo., said project leaders would meet soon with council members to discuss the recommendations.