Editorial

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Published: March 10, 2010

Chemical Depot

IT'S ONE thing for the Army to consider blowing up 500 chemical-weapon shells known to be leaking at the Pueblo Chemical Depot. It's quite another for the Department of Defense now to say as many as 125,000 such weapons could be exploded over two years.

The Colorado Chemical Demilitarization Citizens Advisory Committee is right to question this latest Pentagon report.

According to Irene Kornelly, who chairs the commission, Pentagon officials have said the State Department is concerned that the United States will not look serious about treaty obligations if it stops chemical-weapons destruction activity after the last incineration plant closes in 2012.

Pueblo Chemical Depot will not incinerate, but rather will chemically break down its stockpile of  2,611 tons of mustard agent contained in 780,000 mortar rounds and artillery shells.

While the depot prepares the equipment and facility to carry out this safe neutralization effort, it makes some sense in the interim to blow up the 500 or more weapons known to be leaking.   It's a giant leap, however, from there to 125,000 — and simply doesn't make sense because the vast majority of the 780,000 weapons will be neutralized chemically anyway.   The advisory commission deserves a public response about its questions to the Pentagon.