Army Ready to Destroy World War I Mustard Shell

Officials at the U.S. Army’s Nonstockpile Chemical Materiel Program are prepared to dispose of a World War I-era chemical munition discovered in July in a Delaware poultry farm driveway, the Delaware News Journal reported today (see GSN, Sept. 28).

The Army is expected to use the 5-year-old Explosive Destruction System, a technology that has a perfect safety record in chemical weapons elimination, to destroy the mustard-filled projectile.

“We’ve done it 227 times without a problem,” said William Brankowitz, project manager of the program.  “And I suspect we’ll shortly have 228 times without a problem.”

The Explosive Destruction System has an airtight vapor containment chamber, where three simultaneous explosions break a munition in half and detonate any explosive it might contain. After the release of the chemical, a neutralizing agent is pumped into the chamber.

“It’s a lot like a washing machine,” said David Hoffman, a program group leader. “You put the laundry and the soap in, and you get clean clothes.”

Army officials hosted a six-hour open house yesterday to address question at the Delaware Agricultural Museum in preparation for the two-day destruction project, which is expected to take place later this month at Dover Air Force Base, according to the News Journal (James Merriweather, News Journal, Oct. 7).

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