US destroys remaining chemical weapons stockpile - sarin missiles to be destroyed in Kentucky

The United States is about to turn a page in military history that dates back to the First World War. The US will get rid of its last stockpile of chemical weapons.

Here's What We Know

A major military history milestone is about to be reached at a large military facility in the middle of the green hills of eastern Kentucky. Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot are preparing to destroy the last nerve agent missiles.

The elimination of the sarin munitions will put an end to a long-running campaign to get rid of chemical weapons. By the end of the Cold War, the US had more than 30,000 tonnes of stocks of chemical weapons.

The US has until 30 September 2023 to dispose of the remaining munitions under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which came into force in 1997. It has been acceded to by 193 countries. The munitions being destroyed in Kentucky are the last of 51,000 sarin missiles that have been in storage since the 1940s.

US authorities wanted to burn 520 tonnes of chemical weapons at the plant decades ago. However, people living near Blue Grass rebelled against the plan. They were able to stop the campaign to burn the chemical weapons and forced the US Army to develop alternative methods of getting rid of the stockpile.

Source: Defence News