Crossposted at Politicook.net
The United States chemical weapons stockpile is distributed all around the country. There was one outside of the Continental United States, but it is done will all operations now. Some of the facilities are finished and closed, but most others are not.
This will be a comparatively short diary to show where the stockpile is, or was. Some of those locations may be near you. Effort will be made to tell what kinds of materiel are or were located there. In no particular order they are:
Edgewood Chemical Activity, part of the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, about an hour and a half north of Baltimore just off of the 95. The stockpile was bulk containers of mustard agent, and the project is completed now.
Johnston Atoll, southwest of Hawaii. It had all sorts of weapons, many of which were from our stockpile in Europe. It is done, and closed now.
Umitilla, Oregon. Still active. Nerve agents at least.
Deseret, Utah, south of Salt Late City. 42% of the stockpile. Much of it destroyed now, but not all. Multiple materiel, multiple delivery systems. This was a very complex facility.
Newport, Indiana. VX bulk containers, surrounded by cornfields. They are almost done with destroying the VX.
Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas. Every sort of materiel was stockpiled there. Most has been destroyed, but not all.
Anniston, Alabama. Lots of nerve agents, still not finished destroying them.
Pueblo, Colorado. Mostly mustard projectiles and bulk containers. Still under construction.
Richmond, Kentucky. Bluegrass Army Depot, both nerve agents and mustard. Still under construction.
I may have left out one or two, but these are the big ones. Many other facilities have small quantities of materiel that are not considered part of the stockpile. When found, those are usually sent to Pine Bluff Arsenal for treatment.
If any of these are near you, do not despair. The Army really does a pretty good job in protecting the public against these substances. A collateral benefit is that the sirens that are supposed to signal a chemical accident are also used for severe weather communication. I live less than a quarter of a mile from one, and they work well.
If I have left out a community, please jog my mind. Warmest regards, Doc.