According to a report from The New York Times, starting from today, the United States has become a chemical weapon-free nation. The process of eliminating the stockpile of chemical weapons, which the United States has held for 70 years, has been completed, leading to the country becoming chemical weapon-free.
The Department of Defense will spend 300 billion rupees to destroy the weapons, which is more than 2,900 percent above the allocated budget. The announcement to eliminate chemical weapons was made by the U.S. President Joe Biden last month in September.
According to The New York Times report, in the 1970s, the military attempted to sink old ships loaded with chemical weapons into the sea. However, this plan was met with opposition from the public.
Afterward, there was a proposal to burn these chemical weapons in incinerators, but this was also not approved.
Currently, the United States is using robotic machines to destroy the chemical weapons. These weapons are kept in vaults and are incinerated at temperatures of 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
The U.S. military has not used lethal chemical weapons since 1918. However, during the Vietnam War, it did utilize dangerous agents such as Agent Orange, which was considered harmful to humans.
In 1989, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to destroy their stockpiles of chemical weapons, but it has not been easy to accomplish.
The only way to destroy these weapons is through burning, which releases toxic fumes. Controlling the effects of these fumes is extremely challenging.
In 1986, suddenly, 5,600 sheep died in the state of Utah, which was close to the testing site of chemical weapons.
After pressure from the U.S. Congress, it was acknowledged that testing of a chemical weapon called “VX” was being conducted. There were stockpiles of chemical weapons in eight states with them at that time.