The Chemical Stockpile Disposal Project is responsible for destruction of the U.S. stockpile of unitary chemical weapons. Nine chemical agent disposal facilities are or will be collocated with nine chemical depots. Five disposal facilities are employing the baseline chemical weapons disassembly and incineration process. The Alternative Technology and Approaches Project is responsible for conducting pilot testing of alternative (to incineration) destruction technologies. The Army has selected chemical neutralization of agent followed by post-treatment of the neutralized products for the bulk storage disposal facilities being constructed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, and at the Newport Chemical Depot, IN. At the direction of Congress, the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment Program was established in 1996 to evaluate alternative technologies for the Pueblo and Blue Grass disposal facilities. Selection of the final destruction technologies are awaiting the Records of Decision from the Environmental Impact Statement process for those sites. Technology decisions are planned for January 2002 and July 2002, respectively.

• Incineration disposal facilities:

• Neutralization disposal facilities:

6. Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (MD): under construction.
7. Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (IN): under construction.

• Disposal technologies still to be determined:

8. Pueblo Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (CO).
9. Blue Grass Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (KY).

The Johnston Atoll disposal facility completed chemical agent operations in November 2000, and is currently in the closure process. The Tooele disposal facility is currently the only operational facility. The Anniston and Umatilla disposal facilities are planned to begin agent operations in mid-CY02.

The disposal facilities are government owned and contractor operated. Each site's prime contractor conducts all developmental and operational testing under oversight of the Program Office and the U.S. Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity (AMSAA). The Chemical Demilitarization Program was placed under OSD oversight in December 1994. Since then, DOT&E has provided oversight of the stockpile, non-stockpile, and alternate technologies projects within the Chemical Demilitarization Program.

The Anniston and Umatilla disposal facilities completed construction in June and August 2001, respectively. During construction, testing consisted of contractor-conducted component and sub-system checkout. DOT&E conducted walk-throughs of each facility and participated in on-site meetings with the Program Office, AMSAA, and the prime contractor to determine readiness to begin system developmental testing, which integrates the sub-systems for an end-to-end test with surrogate chemical agent. DOT&E supported recommendations to begin developmental testing activities at each site, which are currently in progress. DOT&E will continue to monitor the developmental test activity and independently analyze selected portions of the test data, leading to a determination of readiness to begin operational testing with active agent in CY02. The Pine Bluff, Aberdeen, and Newport disposal facilities are still under construction. Test activities in FY01 at those sites consisted of limited component and sub-system checkout. DOT&E participated with the Program Office and AMSAA through the Test Integrated Process Team to monitor progress and continue test planning for those facilities.

DOT&E reviewed and approved the TEMPs for the Umatilla, Aberdeen, and Newport facilities, and provided comments on the draft Pine Bluff TEMP, which is in development. DOT&E previously approved the Anniston TEMP in 2000.

DOT&E provided selective on-site monitoring of multiple non-stockpile test activities throughout FY01. DOT&E observed operational testing for the RRS and the PCAS, and independently assessed the test results. DOT&E actively participated in the Operational Readiness In-Process Reviews for these systems and supported the Program Manager's decision to declare both systems operational in FY01, along with the MMAS, which completed operational testing in FY00. The RRS was subsequently used to successfully dispose of the CAIS inventory contained in overpacks at Deseret Chemical Depot.

After completing successful developmental testing at Porton Downs, UK, which DOT&E observed, the prototype EDS was returned to Aberdeen Proving Ground to begin operational testing with nerve agent, mustard, and phosgene. Operational testing was temporarily suspended twice, in December 2000 and June 2001, respectively, in order to relocate the prototype EDS to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Denver, CO, where it was used successfully to destroy a total of ten recovered M139 GB nerve agent bomblets. DOT&E supported an Army decision to use the EDS prototype since developmental testing at Porton Downs had been conducted with live chemical agent, and independent analysis of the test data revealed that using the EDS prototype for emergency disposal operations could be done at acceptable and moderate risk. DOT&E observed this disposal activity and analyzed the data, which supplemented the operational test effort. EDS operational testing with mustard and phosgene resumed in September and was completed on October 2, 2001. DOT&E also participated in the test planning for future variants of EDS.

DOT&E reviewed and provided comments to the Program Office for a revision to the Non-Stockpile Overarching Test Concept Plan, which is a TEMP-like document covering test planning for all non-stockpile programs. DOT&E also reviewed individual test plans for each of the non-stockpile systems.

U.S. Army testing of stockpile and non-stockpile systems in the Chemical Demilitarization Program has been adequate to ensure the safe and efficient disposal of the inventory of chemical warfare materiel. Operational testing of EDS-1, RRS, MMAS, and PCAS has demonstrated that these systems are operationally effective and suitable.

The U.S. Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity is providing effective independent oversight of the testing of both stockpile and non-stockpile programs.