US Army burns off final chemical weapons in Utah

Associated Press | Posted: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 9:43 am

STOCKTON, Utah (AP) _ A U.S. Army depot in Utah is destroying its last chemical weapons, part of a campaign taking place around the nation and in 177 other countries.

The Army kept its largest stockpile of chemical weapons in Utah's west desert _ more than 1 million munitions and tanks.

Now the Deseret Chemical Depot says it's down to destroying its final hard weapon.

The depot, which is 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, will feed the last of its mustard agent-filled projectiles into an incinerator Wednesday.

The Army says the job will complete by the weekend when it burns off some bulk storage tanks of a blister agent called Lewisite.

The U.S. is still working to destroy two other stockpiles of chemical weapons, in Colorado and Kentucky.


Read more: US Army burns off final chemical weapons in Utah