The US destroyed its last chemical weapon after a sarin nerve gas-filled rocket was safely disposed of Friday at a Kentucky army base.
The Pentagon announced that the weapon’s destruction marked the end of a 30-year mission to wipe out the stockpile the US had.
In 1993, the US had agreed to the terms of the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international arms control treaty that was ratified in 1997.
On Friday, the last nerve gas-filled M55 missile was destroyed at the Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky.
The final ordnance was destroyed by a team led by Bechtel National, Inc and Parsons Corporation, using neutralization and explosive destruction technology.
The Pentagon announced that the destruction of the weapon marked the end of a 30-year mission to wipe out the US stockpile.
In this image released by the U.S. military, a machinist guides a forklift driver to unload VX nerve agent M55 missiles on April 15, 2022 at the Blue Grass Army Depot
The last of the ammunition was destroyed yesterday at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky
Developed in the 1950s, the M55 missile was designed to carry ten pounds of chemical.
In a statement, President Biden said: “I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the last munitions in that stockpile — taking us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons.
“I am grateful to the thousands of Americans who have given their time and talents to this noble and challenging mission over more than three decades.
“I continue to encourage the remaining countries to join the Chemical Weapons Convention so that the global ban on chemical weapons can reach its full potential.
“Russia and Syria must return to compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and admit their undeclared programs, which have been used to commit brutal atrocities and attacks.
“We will continue to support the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to prevent the stockpiling, production and use of chemical weapons around the world.
“And together with our partners, we won’t stop until we can finally and forever rid the world of this scourge.”
The Pentagon said the U.S. stockpile of chemical weapons once exceeded 30,000 tons of chemical warfare agents.
Proper destruction of the weapons began in 1990 at Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean before being brought to the mainland US
The Pentagon said they had used locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Maryland, Oregon and Utah before destroying the last gun in Kentucky.
In a statement by President Biden, he called on Russia and Syria to abide by the Chemical Weapons Convention
This photo from shows a security vehicle passing a lot filled with 170-gallon containers of mustard and blister agent at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Tooele, Utah
Fortified igloos once used to store VX chemical on the grounds of the former Newport Chemical Depot are displayed near Newport, Indiana
Prior to the destruction of the last missile, teams in Colorado had also completed the destruction of more than 780,000 mustard agent-filled projectiles on June 22.
Deputy Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Maintenance Dr. William A. LaPlante said, “We have a national security and moral obligation to work to eliminate the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.
“This is the first time that an international agency has verified the destruction of an entire category of declared weapons of mass destruction — reinforcing the United States’ commitment to creating a world free of chemical weapons.”
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said: “This is a momentous day for the US chemical demilitarization program.
In this photo provided by the U.S. military, workers at a factory in Richmond, Kentucky, begin destroying the first missile from a stockpile of M55 missiles
A canister containing mustard gas will be recycled at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot on Thursday, June 8, 2023
“After years of design, construction, testing and operations, these obsolete weapons have been safely eliminated.
“The military is proud to have played a key role in making this demilitarization possible.”
The Chemical Weapons Convention was agreed in 1993 and came into effect in 1997, giving the US until the end of September this year to destroy all chemical weapons.
With the ebb of the Cold War, the great powers and other countries came together to negotiate the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Currently, four signatory countries are deemed non-compliant on suspicion of having undeclared stockpiles: Myanmar, Iran, Russia and Syria.
The Pentagon had previously said it was closely monitoring reports of chemical weapons in Russia last year.