RICHMOND, Ky. – The U.S. has destroyed 90 percent of its chemical weapons – but thousands of aging rockets, laced with deadly nerve agents, remain in storage near Richmond.

The Blue Grass Army Depot holds 523 tons of chemical agent, and will be the last of the country's nine storage sites to destroy its stockpile.

The Chemical Weapons Convention, a 1997 treaty entered into by 190 countries, outlaws the use, production and stockpiling of these lethal weapons.

Craig Williams has been a citizens' watchdog in Kentucky since the early 1980s.

"Once we're done, the United States has fulfilled its international obligations,” he says. “And so, obviously the spotlight is on us as to, 'When are you going to get done? Do you have the funding to complete it? Do you have the workforce to complete it?'"

Other than Kentucky, Colorado has the other remaining stockpile, which is scheduled to complete disposal by 2020. The job will take longer here in Kentucky.

Site project manager Jeff Brubaker says work on the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant will be finished next year, but testing the complex systems will take through 2018. Then, he says he's hopeful disposal will finally begin on the weapons filled with GB and VX nerve agent.

"We're only going to proceed when we're confident that we're going to be successful and we will safely operate the facility," he states.

The target date for closing the plant is 2023. Brubaker says the cost of the Kentucky project, from design to closure, is an estimated $5.3 billion.

Craig Williams says the U.S. will spend close to $40 billion to get rid of its entire stockpile, much more than the military's original estimate in 1985 of $1.8 billion.

Williams says Kentucky is last, in large part, because the Pentagon originally wanted to burn the chemical weapons at Blue Grass. That triggered a public backlash, but conflict eventually turned to cooperation and consensus.

"It's unfortunate that it's taken so long, but there was 15 years of foot-dragging by the Pentagon that created this situation,” he says. “But, here we are now. I feel safe with the technology and with the personnel that are in charge of safely storing the material until it's time to start disposing of it."

The U.S. is one of five treaty signers that hasn't completely destroyed its stockpiles. The others are Russia, Iraq, Libya and Syria. And six countries, including North Korea, Egypt and Israel, are not party to the treaty.





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As West Virginia opens its door to the plastics recycling or "advanced recycling" industry, a recent report found only a fraction of plastics are recycled and plastics labeled as biodegradable in reality can take years to degrade.

One study found biodegradable plastic bags were still fully intact after three years of being buried in the soil. There are currently no federal standards regulating bioplastics, or products claiming to be biodegradable or compostable.

Judith Enck, president of the group Beyond Plastics, said the plastic recycling plants being built in Appalachia increase exposure to microplastics and pose health risks for neighboring communities.

"Chemical recycling just takes plastics heated at a really high temperature to make small amounts of fossil fuels, or uses vast amount of toxic chemicals to try to break down old plastic and make it new plastic," Enck explained. "(It is) the last thing we need."

Plastic production is forecast to increase by 70% over the next 20 years, with roughly half designed for single-use products, according to the report.

Enck argued without significant reduction in plastic packaging, consumers will continue to ingest chemicals like PFAS, lead, mercury, vinyl chloride and other chemicals found in food and beverage packing.

"We're particularly concerned by a chemical called polylactic acid, PLA," Enck noted. "That is typically made from corn or sugar crops, and they also contain toxic chemicals."

Microplastics and nanoplastics are produced when plastic products break down into tiny fragments, which end up in soil and waterways.

Enck pointed out plastic particles have been found in honey, beer, salt, tea bags, fruit, vegetables, seafood and meat. Microplastics have been found in human blood, organs, brains, breast milk and in newborn babies. Research has linked microplastics exposure to heart attacks, stroke, and diseases related to hormone disruption.

Two new studies find that without sustained intervention, California may permanently lose big sections of old-growth giant sequoia groves.

The majestic trees only grow on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. Since 2015, 20% of them have died, mostly in three megafires in 2020 and 2021.

David Soderberg, Ph.D, a biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a study co-author, said the blazes incinerated many of the older, seed-bearing trees.

"You're getting much larger patches of fires burning at what's called high severity. So, you have this kind of bad combination for the sequoias where many more of the mature trees are dying, and there are many fewer of the seedlings regenerating," he explained.

The studies show there are substantially fewer seedlings than in the past, and those that germinate are imperiled by drought and heat stress linked to climate change. The Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition partners have planted more than 500,000 native seedlings in severely burned areas where reproduction has been insufficient.

Paul Ringgold, chief program officer with the Save the Redwoods League, said the idea is to give forest regeneration a head start.

"When you're planting seedlings, you're planting trees that have been grown in the nursery for two years or more. They're more robust than a seedling that is sprouting from a seed, giving it a little bit of an edge against the impact of drier, hotter summers," he said.

Old-growth sequoia are the world's largest trees and depend on fire to reproduce. But Ringgold noted that past fire-suppression efforts have led to a buildup of excessive fuel loads in the forests. So, extensive projects are underway to clear out dead vegetation and make the groves more resilient to fire.

Nearly 10,000 Montanans have petitioned the U.S. Forest Service to prevent mining activity in the iconic Smith River watershed.

The Smith is known for its majestic views and numerous wildlife species but it is also a huge draw for outdoor enthusiasts seeking to "disconnect." The Smith River Public Lands Coalition has called on the Forest Service to withdraw mineral leases granted to a company planning a $4 billion copper mine on private land near Sheep Creek, which feeds the Smith more than half of its water.

Josh Seckinger, a Bozeman-based Smith River guide, estimated he has floated the 5-day, 59-mile-long Smith 100 times. He thinks the copper sulfide mine drainage would be devastating.

"It just decimates anything with gills downstream," Seckinger pointed out. "That's fish, that's amphibians, that's aquatic bug life. It's a terrible way to sterilize a river."

Mine developer Black Butte Copper said it is committed to preserving Montana's water while creating economic development opportunities in the state, and claims it can build the mine in an environmentally friendly way.

Seckinger noted beyond the environmental and wildlife damage the mine drainage could cause, it also threatens the local landscape and the recreational economy built around the Smith River. He argued it is not just a hit to the businesses but to Montanans who want to experience the trip. It requires winning a permit in a state lottery.

"It is my hope that every resident of this state puts in for a lottery permit and wins, so they get the chance to experience this place," Seckinger emphasized. "Because once you experience this place, you understand immediately why it needs to be protected."

Black Butte Copper has bought nearly 700 claims on the public lands surrounding the one near Sheep Creek, potentially allowing the company to further expand its mining operations.


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