The U.S. government has reported the destruction of the final munition in the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague, the Netherlands.
The milestone suggests that the U.S. met its commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline, the Department of Defense said Friday.
“We have a national security imperative and moral obligation to work toward eliminating the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction,” said William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.
“This is the first time an international body has verified destruction of an entire category of declared weapons of mass destruction — reinforcing the United States’ commitment to creating a world free of chemical weapons,” added LaPlante, a 2023 Wash100 awardee.
A joint venture of Bechtel and Parsons destroyed the final nerve agent-filled M55 rocket on Friday, July 7, at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky.
Christine Wormuth, secretary of the Army and a fellow 2023 Wash100 Award recipient, said the service is proud to have played a role in the U.S. chemical demilitarization program.
In June, Bechtel also completed the destruction of mustard agent-filled munitions at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado.
