The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) is a chemical weapons destruction facility built to destroy the chemical weapons stockpile formerly stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot (PCD), now known as the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity-West, in southeastern Colorado. The stockpile originally contained 2,613 U.S. tons of mustard agent in 155 mm projectiles, 105 mm projectiles, and 4.2-inch mortar rounds. The weapons had been stored at the 23,000-acre (93-km²) depot since the 1950s. The last munition in the declared U.S. stockpile was destroyed in July 2023 in Kentucky.
On June 16, 2023, the main plant at PCAPP destroyed its last munition, a 4.2-inch mortar round. On June 22, 2023, the last munition in the stockpile of chemical weapons in Colorado, an overpacked 155 mm projectile containing mustard agent, was destroyed using a Static Detonation Chamber.
PCAPP used neutralization followed by biotreatment to destroy the majority of the stockpile, and Static Detonation Chamber technology to augment the main plant.
Destruction of this stockpile was a requirement of the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international treaty to which the United States is a party. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention and monitored the progress of the nation's declared destruction programs. The Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA) oversaw the destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile in Colorado and now is managing destruction of agent-contaminated secondary waste in Kentucky and closure-related activities in Colorado and Kentucky.
The Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA) oversees the destruction of the Pueblo chemical weapons stockpile.
The Bechtel Pueblo Team (BPT; consisting of Bechtel National, Inc., Amentum, Battelle Memorial Institute and GP Strategies) designed, constructed, pilot-tested, operated, and will close PCAPP.
Destruction began in 2016 and concluded June 22, 2023. The plant will conduct closure activities (shutdown, dismantling, and restoration of site) for three to four years past conclusion of destruction operations.
In 2010, the Pueblo Chemical Depot, in conjunction with the ACWA program, completed an environmental assessment (EA) to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, and Title 32 Code of Federal Regulations Part 651 regarding the construction and operation of the U.S. Army's Explosive Destruction System (EDS) and/or other explosive destruction technologies (EDT), at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado. The EA was withdrawn and a new EA was completed in 2012. The new EA focused on the use of EDT for destroying overpacked and reject munitions. In April 2013, Program Executive Officer Conrad F. Whyne announced his selection of EDS to augment the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant for the safe destruction of chemical munitions unsuited for processing by the main plant's automated equipment. In Spring 2018, the decision was made to end EDS and utilize three Static Detonation Chamber units to augment the main plant.
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The Department of Defense conducted studies [43] to evaluate potential impacts of the elimination of these weapons using incineration and non-incineration methods. Four technologies were considered:
Neutralization followed by biotreatment was selected for the destruction of the Colorado stockpile.
The technology comprised the following steps: [44]
After an assessment of problem munitions showed that their destruction would be difficult using neutralization and biotreatment, ACWA decided to explore use of Explosive Destruction Technology (aka Explosive Demolition Technology, Explosive Detonation Technology, EDT) for these projectiles.
EDT uses heat and pressure from explosion or just heat to destroy the munitions; it is not considered incineration and does not require disassembly of the weapons. [45] There are three general types of technologies that can destroy chemical weapons:
In April 2013, Program Executive Officer Conrad F. Whyne announced his selection of the U.S. Army's EDS to augment the PCAPP for the safe destruction of chemical munitions unsuited for processing by the main plant's automated equipment. [46]
The PCAPP EDS started destruction on March 18, 2015, with the elimination of Department of Transportation (DOT) bottles which contained chemical agent drained from selected munitions over the years to assess the condition of the stockpile. On April 8, the first munitions were successfully processed. In June, operators at the PCAPP EDS took things up a notch with the introduction of 4.2-inch mortars into the destruction process. The first three mortars were joined by three 105 mm projectiles. All were safely detonated in the vessel on June 18. On July 16, the first 155 mm projectiles from Pueblo's stockpile were safely destroyed in the PCAPP EDS. The PCAPP EDS completed its first campaign in February 2016, destroying 549 munitions that leaked or were sampled in the past and 11 bottles containing mustard agent. The second and final campaign ran from June 25 to Dec. 5, 2018. [47]
In spring 2018, PCAPP announced a proposal to procure three Static Detonation Chambers (SDC).
Due to performance issues identified during the first year of pilot testing, and in order to complete destruction of the stockpile by 2023, this technology was chosen to augment the main plant under a proposal by the ACWA program. [48] To meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and federal regulations, an Environmental Assessment was conducted. A Finding of No Significant Impact resulted from the assessment. [49]
Preparations at the SDC site began in June 2019. [50] The first Static Detonation Chamber components arrived at the depot on Aug. 6, 2019, in a convoy of more than a dozen flatbed trucks. [51] Assembly began Oct. 31, 2019. Protective, tension fabric coverings were erected around each unit, with construction beginning in September 2019. They were completed in June 2020. [52]
On Feb. 19, 2022, chemical-agent destruction began at the Pueblo SDC complex with the processing of a portion of the 4.2-inch mortar rounds. SDC operations marked the beginning of the third and final chemical weapons destruction campaign at PCAPP. [53]
On June 22, 2023, the last munition in the chemical weapons stockpile stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot, an overpacked 155 mm projectile, was destroyed in the plant's Static Detonation Chamber complex.
Closure is the final phase of the project, coming after chemical weapons destruction operations have been completed. Closure encompasses planning, preparation and disposal of agent-contaminated and non-contaminated secondary waste; facility and equipment decontamination; and decommissioning and demolition of facilities in accordance with public law and U.S. Army direction. In addition, personal property is dispositioned, real property is returned to the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity-West, formerly known as the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, as environmental permits are closed and the contract is closed.
The Pueblo Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office permanently closed to the public in 2023, but staff continues to be available at pueblooutreach@iem.com. [54]
The Pueblo Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office was established in 1997 to serve as the community's primary information resource on chemical weapons destruction in Colorado. The staff responds to inquiries, provides information materials, coordinates guest speakers for a variety of different civic groups and organizations and interfaces with the governor-appointed Colorado Chemical Demilitarization Citizens' Advisory Commission.
The project's environmental permitting information is available for review during regular business hours at:
· Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library, 100 E. Abriendo Ave., Pueblo, CO 81004
· McHarg Community Center, 405 Second Lane, Avondale, CO 81022
· Boone Community Center, 421 E. First St., Boone, CO 81025
Additional information is also available on the following websites:
Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear, all of which are considered "weapons of mass destruction" (WMDs), a term that contrasts with conventional weapons.
Many nations continue to research and/or stockpile chemical weapon agents despite numerous efforts to reduce or eliminate them. Most states have joined the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which required the destruction of all chemical weapons by 2012. Twelve nations have declared chemical weapons production facilities and six nations have declared stockpiles of chemical weapons. All of the declared production facilities have been destroyed or converted for civilian use after the treaty went into force.
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Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) is a U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command storage facility for conventional munitions and chemical weapons. The facility is located in east central Kentucky, southeast of the cities of Lexington and Richmond, Kentucky. The 14,494-acre (58.66 km2) site, composed mainly of open fields and wooded areas, is used for munitions storage, repair of general supplies, and the disposal of munitions. The installation is used for the storage of conventional explosive munitions as well as assembled chemical weapons. The depot primarily is involved in industrial and related activities associated with the storage and maintenance of conventional and chemical munitions.
Anniston Chemical Activity was a U.S. Army chemical weapon storage site located in Alabama. The Army had stored approximately seven percent of the nation’s original chemical weapons stockpile at the Anniston Army Depot since the early 1960s. In August 2003, the Army began disposing of these weapons at the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. Destruction of the base's stockpile of VX was begun on July 23, 2006. By December 2008, all of the VX on site had been destroyed. Destruction of mustard-filled munitions began on July 2, 2009 after several months of retooling. By July 2010, it had destroyed by incineration 75% of the depot's total stockpile including all 437 tons of GB (sarin) and all VX nerve agent on site. On September 22, 2011, the last mustard gas shells were burned, completing chemical weapons disposal at the facility. The facilities were scheduled for dismantlement by about 2013 and some of the weapon-handling equipment was planned for transfer to the depots at Kentucky and Colorado. Local government emergency departments are expecting to lose millions in annual funding from the federal government related to the presence of the chemical depot and as many as 1000 jobs will be cut on the base. According to the US Army Corps of Engineers the disposal and closure of Anniston Chemical Activity were completed on May 7, 2013. Following the closure, other uses for the incinerators were explored, but ultimately they were demolished.
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The Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives is responsible for the safe and environmentally sound destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles previously stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, and the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado, now known as the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity-West. In 1996, the United States Congress established the ACWA program to test and demonstrate alternative technologies to baseline incineration for the destruction of chemical weapons. The ACWA program oversaw the design and construction of the two chemical weapons destruction pilot plants – the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) in Colorado and the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) in Kentucky. As of July 7, 2023, PCAPP and BGCAPP have both concluded destruction of their respective stockpiles of chemical weapons. PEO ACWA will continue to oversee both plants through their closure phases, each estimated to take three to four years.
Throughout history, chemical weapons have been used as strategic weaponry to devastate the enemy in times of war. After the mass destruction created by WWI and WWII, chemical weapons have been considered to be inhumane by most nations, and governments and organizations have undertaken to locate and destroy existing chemical weapons. However, not all nations have been willing to cooperate with disclosing or demilitarizing their inventory of chemical weapons. Since the start of the worldwide efforts to destroy all existing chemical weapons, some nations and terrorist organizations have used and threatened the use of chemical weapons to leverage their position. Examples of the use of chemical weapons since World War II are Iraq’s Saddam Hussein on the Kurdish village Halabja in 1988 and their employment against civilian passengers of the Tokyo subway by Aum Shinrikyo in 1995. The efforts made by the United States and other chemical weapon destruction agencies intend to prevent such use, but this is a difficult and ongoing effort. Aside from the difficulties of cooperation and locating chemical weapons, the methods to destroy the weapons and to do this safely are also a challenge.
Pueblo Depot Activity(PUDA), formerly known as the Pueblo Ordnance Depot and the Pueblo Army Depot, was a U.S. Army ammunition storage and supply facility. Responsibility for the depot fell upon the United States Army Ordnance Corps, and the first civilians were hired in 1942 as operations began. The mission quickly expanded to include general supplies as well. It is a 24,202-acre (97.94 km2) site located 14 miles (23 km) east of Pueblo, Colorado at 38°19′37.07″N104°20′22.4″W. In 1945 they began to receive mass amounts of equipment returning from the combat theaters of World War II. Therefore, the mission expanded yet again to include the maintenance and refurbishing of artillery, fire control, and optical material. In 1951 the depot assumed responsibility to distribute U.S. Air Force ammunition for an eight-state area, as well as storage of strategic and critical materials for the General Services Administration (GSA). They were also tasked to rebuild and provide on-site maintenance support for guided missiles, ensure calibration and maintenance of electronic test equipment and radio-controlled aerial targets. They would also provide specialized training for new Army equipment as needed. In 1952, Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Denver, Colorado transferred chemical agents and chemical munitions to Pueblo Army Depot for secure storage. In 1974 Pueblo Army Depot was redesignated as Pueblo Depot Activity.
A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as a weapon "or its precursor that can cause death, injury, temporary incapacitation or sensory irritation through its chemical action. Munitions or other delivery devices designed to deliver chemical weapons, whether filled or unfilled, are also considered weapons themselves."
The United States chemical weapons program began in 1917 during World War I with the creation of the U.S. Army's Gas Service Section and ended 73 years later in 1990 with the country's practical adoption of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Destruction of stockpiled chemical weapons began in 1986 and was completed on July 7, 2023. The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD), at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, continues to operate.
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