Halfway done at Tooele chemical weapons depot
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Crews have destroyed most of
the aging chemical weapons stored in Tooele County. Just over half the 13,616 tons of nerve and blister agents stockpiled in bunkers south of Tooele - the largest collection in the country - have been destroyed. After processing a VX nerve agent spray tank early Sunday, depot officials noted the milestone. "We're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel," said Chuck Sprague, Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility spokesman. The remaining nerve agent and mustard gas stored in Tooele still surpass the size of any other chemical weapons stockpile. And the project is far behind schedule. Crews started feeding aging chemical weapons into a network of furnaces in 1996. The painstaking process was slowed by broken equipment, required plant modifications and litigation. Last month, incineration of VX tanks stopped after workers missed a step in shipping the tanks from Deseret Chemical Depot, where the agents are stored in earth-covered concrete bunkers. Shipments resumed Friday. Next spring, Sprague says, workers will finish destroying 850 spray tanks and 22,500 mines armed with VX nerve agent and move on to incinerating 168,700 pounds of mustard gas stored in bulk containers, projectiles and mortar cartridges. The stockpile is scheduled to be eliminated by the end of 2008. "In a short period of time, respectively, all of this agent will be gone and the community surrounding the depot will be safe," Sprague said. The Tooele County installation is one of four U.S. facilities destroying chemical weapons. Eight other sites across the country store nerve and blister agents. Some of the mustard gas stores date to World War I. Based on a 1997 international treaty meant to ban development and use of chemical weapons, the United States and other countries are destroying the controversial munitions. In a news release, DCD Director Col. Raymond Van Pelt said the 850 contract workers at the disposal plant are "making important history." When the chemical weapons are eliminated, workers will begin to dismantle and burn the plant, including concrete chips, soil contaminated when the aging tanks leaked, and their own protective suits. walsh@sltrib.com |