Chemical Weapons

The most feasible technological alternatives to the incineration of chemical weapons are in the initial stages of development and are more than a decade away from becoming fully operational. It is unlikely that any of these technologies will be ready in time to destroy the entire U.S. chemical weapons stockpile by the December 2204 deadline. Any of these alternative technologies could not, by itself, dispose of an entire chemical weapon. As a result, multiple technologies would have to be developed and tested. Because the alternative technologies are in the earliest stages of development, cost estimates are either nonexistent or unreliable. Similarly, their performance cannot be compared with that of incineration. GAO did, however, identify advantages and disadvantages to each technology. This testimony also discusses the operational safety of the Army's incineration facility on Johnston Atoll and the cryofracture process, which involves soaking munitions in liquid oxygen to make them brittle. The munitions are then crushed in a large hydraulic press before being incinerated.