The U.S. Defense Department is expected to decide this month how it will destroy mustard gas stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported today (see GSN, Feb. 5).

Officials are considering four disposal methods for the agents at the depot, according to the Gazette.

Two of the methods use incineration.  In one, liquid agents are incinerated directly, and in the other, liquids are frozen before incineration.  The other two methods use neutralization, in which the mustard agent is mixed with water and broken down into harmless chemicals.  One neutralization method uses bacteria to break down the agent, while the other uses heat and pressure.

Incineration is a safe way to dispose of the mustard gas agent, said Bob Kennemer, site manager for the Pueblo Chemical Depot Community Outreach Office.

“The biggest concern is what’s the end product.  What comes out the end of the stack?” Kennemer said.  “Is it going to hurt me, my family and contaminate the environment and livestock?”

“I’m confident the technologies are safe and meet federal air standards, but there will be emissions,” he said.  “There’s no magic box with nasty things going in one end and flowers coming out the other.”

Colorado state and local officials, however, support neutralization methods.  Neutralization is a safer and simpler process than incineration, said Ross Vincent, a senior policy adviser for the Sierra Club.

“The problem with burning it is that’s precisely the condition that is created when the weapons explode on the battlefield,” Vincent said (Tom Ragan, Colorado Springs Gazette, March 15).

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