Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (TOCDF) facility plans to start burning mustard blister agent this summer after several months of testing and replacing equipment at the facility.

"We have 6,219 pounds of mustard left in bulk containers.," said Deseret Chemical spokesperson Alaine Southworth. "There is potential mercury contamination in about 15 to 20 percent of the mustard. During the first three years we will burn mustard that contains little or no mercury."

Gary Mahall, spokesman for the U.S. Army Materials Agency, said the mercury is not an element in mustard agent, but was discovered in metal containers containing mustard.

"We're concerned because mercury is a heavy metal and when it settles out of the air it finds its way into the food chain. It can seep down into the water system," Mahall said.

The U.S. Army announced Tuesday it will not meet the United States' International obligation to have the entire U.S. chemicals stockpile destroyed by the April 29, 2012 deadline afforded by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

"This pushes our completion schedule out to 2016. This is a schedule that accounts for any risks we may encounter in the process," Southworth said. She indicated that TOCDF will probably learn lessons from other disposal sites in Alabama, Arkansas and Oregon that could speed up the process. The 2016 finish date is a conservative estimation.

Deadlines for disposing of chemical weapons worldwide are continually being pushed back.

Under the CWC treaty, the United States had 10 years from April 29, 1997, when the treaty entered into force to destroy its declared stockpile of 31,500 tons of chemical agents. This 10-year window included a a provision for a one-time, five-year extension. This extension request was recently submitted to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the international body that oversees the implementation of the Convention's provisions.

The United States is working on a deadline to have 45 percent of the chemical weapons stockpile destroyed by Dec. 31, 2007.

As of May 3, 2006, the United States has destroyed 10,125 metric tons of chemical agent, or 36.5 percent of its inventory.

Experts report that Russia may also need more time to destroy its voluminous stockpile of chemical weapons, according to CWC agreements. Reports show that the Ukraine has destroyed most of its meager stockpile of chemical weapons.

A Deseret Chemical Depot press release indicates the reasons for an extension of the deadline includes:

• Unanticipated delays in obtaining approval of environmental permits for the start of operations.
• Lower estimated destruction rates.
• Facility work stoppages to investigate and resolve problems.
• Development of protocols to improve operational safety.
• Deteriorating munitions which have complicated handling and destruction process.
• Facility start-up delays due to additional community emergency preparedness requirements

Deseret Chemical Depot is on the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list with the caveat to stay open as long as it takes to destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons.

For more information about the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency and its operations see www.cma.army.mil.

e-mail:mwatson@tooeletranscript.com