WWI-era weapons destroyed at Schofield - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

WWI-era weapons destroyed at Schofield

HONOLULU — The Army on Thursday said it has completed destroying a large collection of World War I-era chemical weapons found at Schofield Barracks several years ago.

The 71 weapons, filled with the choking agents phosgene and chloropicrin, were the largest concentration of unexploded chemical weapons found at a U.S. operational training range.

Air monitoring confirmed no release of chemicals during their destruction, the Army said in a news release.

“From the very beginning of this process, we have emphasized that safety is paramount, and we’ve stayed true to our focus,” said Col. Matthew Margotta, commander, U.S. Army Garrison, Hawaii.

The $7 million project used a machine called the Transportable Detonation Chamber to destroy munitions, including their chemical agents, one at a time.

The device includes a 110-ton blast chamber the size of a freight elevator. One-inch steel armor and a 10-inch-wide wall filled with sand protect the chamber. Explosives placed in the chamber destroy the weapons.

The chamber was used in the U.S. to destroy chemical weapons for the first time.

The metal pieces from the destroyed munitions will be shipped to Washington state for treatment and disposal.

The Army stockpiled the weapons through World War II. They were found at Schofield Barracks between 2004 and 2006 when workers were clearing a range for a newly formed Stryker brigade.