PBCDF Munitions Handlers lower the last Enhanced Onsite Container carrying VX M55 rockets onto a conveyor in the disposal facility's container handling building. Download High-Res Image

The Project Manager – Chemical Stockpile Elimination (PM-CSE), established in 2006, by merging the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Project (CSDP) and the Alternative Technologies and Approaches Project (ATAP), manages the safe treatment and disposal of chemical agents and weapons stored at a protected Army site in Utah.

Safe Treatment and Disposal

Chemical agents at the site in Utah are destroyed through the safe and proven technology of incineration. The Army selected incineration following extensive testing and endorsement by federal oversight agencies including the National Research Council, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to high-temperature treatment units, facilities include equipment for separating components, draining agent, monitoring operations, and filtering air to ensure safety to workers, the community and the environment.

Disposal operations using incineration technology were completed in 2000 at Johnston Island, in the Pacific southwest of Hawaii; the first site to complete disposal of all chemical warfare materiel, ridding the nation of more than six percent of its chemical agent inventory. The Pine Bluff Arsenal, AR, stockpile accounted for approximately 12 percent of the nation’s total and disposal operations were completed in November 2010. The stockpile in Anniston, AL. was completely destroyed in September 2011. Anniston’s stockpile made up seven percent of the nation’s original stockpile. In October 2011, Umatilla, OR,. completed disposal operations. The Umatilla stockpile made up 12 percent of the nation’s original stockpile.

Disposal operations using chemical neutralization disposal technology were completed in February 2006 at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD facility, eliminating more than five percent of the nation’s chemical agent inventory. The disposal facility is now closed. The Newport Chemical Depot, IN facility completed chemical stockpile disposal in August 2008, eliminating four percent of the nation’s chemical agent inventory and has since been closed.

Protecting the Public and the Environment

CMA is committed to open information exchange and the public's input should there be concerns during the chemical agent disposal process. For more information on chemical weapons disposal or to provide feedback, stop by your local community outreach office.