Tooele depot destroys last VX nerve rocket By Dawn House The Salt Lake Tribune Workers at Deseret Chemical Depot in Tooele County have destroyed the last chemical-agent-filled M55 rocket.     The destruction this week of the final rocket containing VX eliminates the single greatest risk involving the release of chemical agents from the storage stockpile, depot officials said in a statement Tuesday.     "It's a milestone for our nation," said Col. Peter Cooper, depot commander. "It shows the world we're serious about eliminating the U.S. stockpile of chemical weapons and protecting Americans from an aging chemical stockpile."     The depot, about 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, began destroying the nation's largest stockpile of chemical weapons in 1996. The chemical weapons are being destroyed under international treaties signed by more than 200 countries.     About 7,510 tons of the original 13,617 tons of nerve and blister agent in the stockpiles remain to be destroyed, said depot spokeswoman Alaine Southworth, with an expected completion date of 2007.     VX is a nerve agent so powerful that a single drop on the skin can result in death within about 15 minutes. It works by disrupting the nervous system and causing breathing to stop.     "Rockets were destroyed first in both the VX and GB agent campaigns because of concerns about the stability of the propellant in these munitions," said Dale Ormond, the depot's site project manager.     Jason Groenewold, director of the public-interest group Families Against Incinerator Risk, said the Army "has attempted to burn everything before the final emissions data has been submitted to the state. In this case, the Army failed part of their rocket trial burn and were asked to redo some of those tests. We're concerned."