President Joe Biden announced that the United States has successfully destroyed the last of its known chemical weapons stockpile, marking the conclusion of a multi-decade initiative to eradicate these lethal arms, first extensively deployed during World War I.
In a written statement released by the White House, Biden declared, “Today, I am pleased to state that the United States has securely eradicated the final weapon in that stockpile, nudging us closer to a world devoid of the terror of chemical weapons.”
As per the Chemical Weapons Convention ratified by the US Senate in 1997, the US, among other signatories, was obligated to eliminate their chemical weapons stockpile by September 30, 2023.
Destruction of the Last Chemical Weapon
The remaining US stockpiles were systematically destroyed at the US Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Pueblo, Colorado, and the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) in Richmond, Kentucky. The final M55 rocket containing the VX nerve agent was disposed of at the Kentucky plant in 2022.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention records indicate that the US’ cache of chemical warfare agents peaked at nearly 40,000 tonnes by 1968.
In a statement, US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell commented on the horrific loss caused by chemical weapons, adding, “Though the employment of these deadly tools will forever mar history, today our Nation has finally upheld our pledge to cleanse our arsenal of this menace.”
Chemical weapons gained prominence during World War I, termed the “chemist’s war”. The United Nations reports that nearly 100,000 people were killed by chemical weapons during World War I, leading to more than 1 million casualties worldwide since then.
