Military and political leaders gathered in Kentucky to mark the end of a campaign to destroy a cache of chemical weapons stored by the Army for decades. The milestone was reached in July, when workers destroyed the last rockets filled with sarin. It was the last of a nationwide stockpile of 30,000 tons of the Cold War-era weapons. McConnell joined state and local leaders as well as Defense Department officials to pay tribute to the workers given the painstaking assignment of destroying the weapo
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, at podium, speaks at a ceremony, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 in Richmond, Ky., to honor the disposal of the state’s cache of decades-old chemical weapons stored at an Army depot. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, seated at right, steered millions to the destruction effort over several decades. A rocket tipped with sarin destroyed in Kentucky in July marked the end of a nationwide program to safely dispose of the deadly Cold War-era weapons. RICHMOND, Ky.
McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader, called it “one of the great honors” of his career to be at the forefront of the long-running campaign to destroy the weapons. McConnell got involved at the urging of citizens who opposed the Army’s plan to burn the weapons. The senator stayed engaged over the decades by steering massive amounts of federal dollars to the disposal effort. In 1996, McConnell introduced and won passage of legislation that led to efforts to identify and demonstrate responsible alternatives to incineration at the Kentucky facility, the senator’s office said.
“Kentucky has been home to over 500 tons of chemical weapons, including mustard, sarin and VX, since way back in the 1940s, and for years, the community coexisted with these munitions,” he added.McConnell credited Craig Williams, a Vietnam War veteran and local environmental activist, for his expertise and years of work on the project. He thanked Williams for his commitment to “transparency and credibility.
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