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More than 500 tons of chemical agents being destroyed in Madison County

chemical agents.jpg
Posted at 6:54 PM, Aug 04, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-05 06:44:46-04

MADISON COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Did you know that more than 500 tons of chemical agents once sat in Madison County?

One by one, those weapons are being destroyed. Some date back to before the Vietnam War.

LEX 18 along with other media outlets got a look inside the operations of the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

The site is tucked away off Duncannon Lane south of the heart of Richmond.

More than 30 years ago, the government site's project manager, Dr. Candace Coyle, says that the US signed an agreement to destroy a stockpile of chemical weapons, a task now being carried out.

"And so this mission is completely about destroying that entire stockpile so that we can make this world a safer place. But specifically Madison County and the surrounding area," said Dr. Coyle.

There were more than 523 tons of chemical agents when the mission began. Almost 30% has been destroyed so far.

The simulation we witnessed was the taking apart of an M55 rocket carrying the VX nerve agent.