for immediate release: Wednesday,
February 9, 2006
NEUTRALIZATION FACILITY COMPLETES CWA DISPOSAL IN MARYLAND
Over 1800 Tons Of Chemical Warfare Agent Safely Destroyed
The United States chemical demilitarization
program has reached an important milestone: over 1,800 tons of deadly mustard
agents have been successfully destroyed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
The facility used a water-based neutralization process - a low-temperature,
low-pressure method - chosen after citizens and elected officials fought for
more than a decade for safer alternatives to the Army's proposal to incinerate
the mustard agents.
Agent disposal operations began in April 2003.
Although the mustard agents themselves were destroyed by March 2005, yesterday's
decontamination of the final container that had held the agent was completed,
marking the end of agent operations.
"This brings the United States closer to their commitment
of complete destruction of the entire stockpile as required under international
treaty," said Craig Williams, Director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group
(CWWG). "And, it was accomplished in a manner acceptable to the surrounding
community and protective of the environment and public health."
John Nunn, Co-Chair of the Maryland Citizens Advisory
Commission, said, "Reaching this milestone has been a long time coming but
it proves what can be accomplished when the community is involved in selecting
the disposal method, rather than having a disposal technology forced upon
it. By working together Aberdeen is now the first U.S. site to destroy its
entire chemical weapons stockpile. This success shows that the community,
Army and private industry can partner together to destroy chemical agents
safely without using incineration. "
Incineration has also been abandoned in Colorado,
Indiana and Kentucky, in favor of the safer neutralization approach. However,
incineration is used in Alabama, Arkansas, Oregon and Utah.
The CWWG, made up of citizens groups at all U.S. eight
sites, Pacific allies and community groups in Russia, have fought incineration
based on their concerns about smokestack releases of chemical agents, and
other toxic emissions such as mercury and PCBs, and the associated health
and environmental impacts. "The completion of operations in Maryland using
non-incineration technologies demonstrates that our stance back in the late
80's was correct," said Williams. "Back then the Army claimed no other method
existed to destroy these agents. Today we have proof positive that incinerator
alternatives are completely viable."
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Copies of the memo are available from the CWWG office upon request.
