U.S. Eliminates 80 Percent of Chemical Weapons Arsenal
Baku, October 6 (AZERTAC). Only 20 percent of the U.S. arsenal of chemical warfare materials remains to be destroyed, the Army announced, according to NTI.
The service`s Chemical Materials Agency said as of Sunday it had burned off or chemically neutralized 24,488 tons of chemical agents and eliminated more than 2.1 million munitions stored at seven installations.
The 80 percent milestone “is another positive step in meeting the treaty and our commitment to the American people to safely dispose of the stockpile of chemical weapons,” CMA Director Conrad Whyne said.
Washington originally agreed to dispose of its banned arsenal within a decade of formally joining the pact, a deadline later pushed back to April 2012. Operations, though, are expected to continue for nine years past the mandated end date.
The Army is responsible for destroying only half of the remaining stockpile. It expects to complete disposal work by the schedule set under the convention.
“This 80 percent destruction milestone highlights the firm determination that has been consistently demonstrated by the United States in meeting its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention,” said Ahmet Uzumcu, head of the convention`s international verification body, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
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