Chemical Weapons News – June 8

Umatilla to destroy its last weapons. Now what? – The Associate Press – kgw.com News
After more than 45 years, the days of the Umatilla Chemical Depot are numbered. The depot is preparing to incinerate its hefty supply of mustard gas, the last chemical weapon stored there.

Videos renew debate on military use of animals – CNN
Newly released videos are raising questions about the military’s continued use of live animals in simulated battlefield medical training…

Transfer of mustard blister agent begins – United Press International
The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency announced it has begun the transfer of mustard blister agent to the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. The CMA says the delivery of blister agent HD mustard-filled containers to the UMCDF is a significant milestone…

Final Chemical Agent Disposal Campaign Begins at Umatilla – Global Security Newswire
The final chemical agent demilitarization campaign is under way at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon, the U.S. Army announced yesterday…

Army Begins Mustard Blister Agent Disposal Campaign – US Army Chemical Materials Agency Press Release – PRNewswire.com
Umatilla Chemical Depot (UMCD) storage workers began delivering HD mustard-filled bulk containers or “ton containers” to the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (UMCDF) at 10 a.m. this morning. This marks the official start of the last individual chemical munitions disposal campaign at the depot…

Umatilla Depot to destroy mustard gas – The Seattle Times
Workers at the Umatilla Chemical Depot have begun the process to incinerate the last of the chemical weapons stored there…

Panel Proposes Destruction Method for Leaking Pueblo Mustard Munitions – Global Security Newswire
A U.S. National Academies advisory panel has recommended using a mobile unit already operated by the Army to destroy leaking and heavily corroded mustard agent munitions at the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado…

Leaking Munition Secured at Chemical Weapons Depot – Global Security Newswire
Officials at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky have discovered the source of a nerve agent leak in a containment igloo at the installation…

No Legal Option for Meeting Chemical Demilitarization Deadline, Report Says – Global Security Newswire
A new report says that U.S. law prohibits the only realistic option for meeting the 2017 deadline set by Congress for complete elimination of the U.S. chemical-weapon stockpile, Superfund Report reported yesterday…

Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot Hiring Security Guards – KNDO NBC News
For the second time this year the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot is hiring more security guards. The depot is hiring more guards because they are about to start another mission…

What Lies Ahead for Pueblo’s Chemical Weapons – 5820 Magazine
A state-of-the-art factory will be built on the open prairie at the Pueblo Chemical Depot to destroy the mustard-gas weapons that have long been stored there. U.S. Senator Mark Udall, a Colorado Democrat, visited the depot on Saturday, saying that in his 10 years as a federal lawmaker…

Pueblo Chemical Depot May Receive More Money – Sean Hauser – KRDO ABC News
Senator Mark Udall visited the Steel City Saturday to get a rare look inside the Pueblo Chemical Depot. Udall said at times there hasn’t been enough money dedicated in the past to the Weapons Destruction Program, but he’s hopeful that will soon change…

Arsenal Looks To Closing Chemical Weapons Incinerator – NWA online
Chemical weapons destruction at the Pine Bluff Arsenal is in its final stage, and officials are now considering what to do with the disposal facility after the incinerator and related equipment are decommissioned…

Pine Bluff Arsenal looks to end of chemical weapons disposal, decommissioning of incinerator – Associated Press, accessed at KFSM News
The Pine Bluff Arsenal is in the final years of disposing of chemical weapons stored at the site. incineration of mustard gas scheduled to be complete in November 2011…

Making progress at the depot – By Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. and Congressman Ben Chandler, D-Ky. – The Richmond Register
Kentuckians got some good news recently regarding the deadly chemical weapons stored by the Department of Defense at the Blue Grass Army Depot. A recent report from the Department announced progress toward their disposal and a path forward for complete elimination…