The chemist Ranajit Ghosh discovered the V-series nerve agents at the government research establishment at Porton Down, England in 1952; VX was passed over in favour of continuing with sarin as their chemical weapon of choice. The United Kingdom unilaterally renounced chemical and biological weapons in 1956. In 1958 the British government traded their research on VX technology with the United States of America in exchange for information on thermonuclear weapons. The US then went into production of large amounts of VX in 1961.
The US later destroyed all of its stockpiles of the deadly nerve agent (by incineration at Johnston Island in the South Pacific), as mandated by the US accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Earlier, pre-treaty disposal included the US Army's CHASE (Cut Holes And Sink 'Em) program, in which old ships were filled with chemical weapons stockpiles and then scuttled. CHASE 8 was conducted on June 15, 1967, in which the S.S. Cpl. Eric G. Gibson was filled with 7,380 VX rockets and scuttled in 7,200 feet of water, off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The long-term environmental ramifications of exposing large quantities of VX to seawater and marine life could pose a grave danger, but are ultimately unknown.
The US is also destroying chemical weapons stockpiles containing VX in nine other locations, one of which is in Russia. On June 12, 2005, it was reported that more than 250,000 US gallons (950 m³) of the chemical weapon are stored at the Newport Chemical Depot in Newport, Indiana, about 30 miles (50 km) north of Terre Haute, Indiana. The VX is in the process of being hydrolyzed to much less toxic byproducts using concentrated caustic solution. The VX hydrolysate produced will contain mainly a phosphonate ester and a thiolamine, with 20 parts per billion or less of residual VX. (Interestingly, 20 ppb is the level of VX in water that is considered permissible for drinking by US combat troops.) A plan was developed to truck the hydrolysate from Indiana to the DuPont Chambers Works Secure Environmental Facility at Deepwater, NJ where it was to be further treated to destroy the phosphonate ester and the thiolamine, and dumped into the Delaware River.[2] The governors of Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York have opposed this plan and the New Jersey Governor Codey instructed the New Jersey Department of Transportation to deny entry to any trucks carrying the hydrolysate to the Deepwater facility. Prior to the current plan, it had been proposed that the hydrolysate be dumped into the Great Miami River, a tributary of the Ohio River, near Dayton, Ohio but the community there successfully defeated the proposal.
VX hydrolysis began on May 5 2005 and as of June 12 the facility had destroyed 2,894 US gallons (11 m³) of VX. A contained spill of 30 US gallons (100 L) drew attention to the disposal process, but authorities said no agent was released and no one was injured in the spill.
Iraq under Saddam Hussein admitted to UNSCOM that it had researched VX, but denied weaponizing the agent due to production failure. [2] Subsequent investigation after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq indicates that Iraq had indeed weaponized VX in 1988 and had dropped three VX-filled bombs on Iran. [3]
On January 5, 2007, DuPont announced they had abandoned plans to seek the contract for transportation, treatment, and disposal of VX at their Chambersworks Secure Treatment Facility in Deepwater, NJ. They cited lengthy review processes and strong opposition by New Jersey's governor, Jon Corzine, New Jersey senators and congressmen, and environmental groups including NJ Audubon, Delaware Riverkeepers, and the Litoral Society as well as the on-going investigation by the GAO as factors in their decision to withdraw from the plan.
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