Neutralization Approved for CW Destruction
In a February 27 Record of Decision, the Department of Defense approved using a technology for destroying chemical weapons in Kentucky that is more popular with regional citizen groups than incineration, which has been used to destroy chemical weapons so far. The Army will use neutralization followed by supercritical water oxidation at the Blue Grass Army Depot, where eventually the Army plans to destroy about 2 percent of its total chemical weapons stockpile.
The decision approves the technology for full-scale pilot tests at the site; if the tests are successful, the Army will use the technology to destroy the stockpile at the Blue Grass depot, located in Richmond, Kentucky. The Army is now in the process of choosing a contractor to build and operate the facility.
The Defense Department considered several other technologies: incineration, chemical neutralization followed by supercritical water oxidation and gas-phase chemical reduction, and electrochemical oxidation. The department considered cost, the destruction schedule, environmental impact, community concerns, compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and other issues when making the decision.
Under the CWC, which bans chemical weapons and requires their destruction, the United States is supposed to destroy its entire stockpile by April 2007. The Army, however, is likely to miss that deadline, according to U.S. officials.
ACA In The News
New York Times
February 28, 2010
Experts Voice Concern Over U.S. Nuclear Policy Review
Global Security Newswire
February 17, 2010
Iran nuclear program takes another step up escalation ladder
Christian Science Monitor
February 8, 2010
Obama budget seeks 13.4 percent increase for National Nuclear Security Administration
Washington Post
February 3, 2010
U.S., Russia Agree to Nuclear-Arms Accord
Wall Street Journal
February 3, 2010
Arms Control TV
February 2010
Vice President Joe Biden delivered an address on the administration's nonproliferation and nuclear security agenda.




