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Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS) was the U.S. Army's first
chemical munitions A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized Ammunition, munition that uses chemicals chemical engineering, formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be an ...
disposal facility. It was located on Johnston Island, at
Johnston Atoll Johnston Atoll is an Unincorporated territories of the United States, unincorporated territory of the United States, currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Johnston Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge and ...
and completed its mission and ceased operation in 2000.


Background

Prior to the beginning of destruction operations at JACADS, the atoll held about 6.6% of the entire U.S. stockpile of chemical weapons. Chemical weapons were stockpiled on Johnston Atoll beginning in 1971, including weapons transferred from Okinawa during the 1971 Operation Red Hat. Some of the other weapons stored at the site, including Sarin (GB) and VX Nerve Agent, were shipped from U.S. stockpiles in Germany in 1990. The shipments followed a 1986 agreement between the U.S. and Germany to move the munitions.Broadus, James M., et al. ''The Oceans and Environmental Security: Shared U.S. and Russian Perspectives'',
Google Books
, p. 103, Island Press, 1994, (), accessed October 25, 2008.
The remainder of the chemical weapons were a small number of World War II era weapons shipped from the Solomon Islands. In 1985, the U.S. Congress mandated that all chemical weapons stockpiles at Johnston Atoll, mostly mustard and nerve agents, be destroyed.


History

Planning for JACADS began in 1981 and initial construction started in 1985–1986.Pike, John.
Johnston Atoll
, ''Globalsecurity.org'', accessed October 25, 2008.
In August 1985, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a 10-year permit to the Army allowing it to construct and operate JACADS.Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS)
, ''U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, updated July 27, 2007, accessed October 25, 2008.
As JACADS was preparing to begin operations, the U.S. Congress passed Public Law 100-456, which required JACADS to complete operational verification testing (OVT) to ensure each type of munition could be disposed of safely.Mauroni, Albert J. ''America's Struggle with Chemical-Biological Warfare'',
Google Books
, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000, p. 245, ().
Operations began at JACADS in June 1990,Chemical Weapons Destruction Complete on Johnston Atoll
, ( Press release), '' U.S. Department of Defense'', November 30, 2000, accessed October 25, 2008.
commencing with operational verification testing. The first weapon disposal took place on June 30, 1990. That day, JACADS became the first U.S. chemical weapons disposal facility.Kakesako, Gregg K.
Johnston Atoll: The end of an era
, ''
Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolulu Advertiser''). ...
'', November 6, 2003, accessed October 25, 2008.
The OVT phase of operations lasted until March 1993. Transition from the testing phase to full-scale operations began in May 1993 and, in August, full-scale operations began. Twice, in 1993 and 1994, the facility had to be evacuated because of hurricanes; operations were delayed for as long as 70 days during these periods. On November 29, 2000, the last of the chemical weapons at JACADS were disposed of. The last disposal operation destroyed more than 13,000 VX filled land mines. Two years after the last chemical weapons at JACADS were destroyed, the Army submitted the plan to dismantle the facility to the EPA; it was approved in September 2002.Mauroni, Albert J. ''Chemical Demilitarization: Public Policy Aspects'',
Google Books
, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003, p. 116, ().
Demolition on the facility, home to the incinerators, laboratories and control rooms, took place from August–October 2003. In November 2003 a plaque was dedicated to JACADS personnel.


Disposal program


Disposal method

JACADS workers utilized incineration to destroy the chemical agents at Johnston Atoll. After workers loaded the weapons onto a conveyor, automated equipment would take over the process. The equipment removed the explosive component of the weapon and drained the chemical agent. The explosive and chemical agent were then incinerated at high temperature. The metal weapons casings were then thermally decontaminated and scrapped.JACADS: Defining a Moment in Chemical Weapons History
", ''U.S. Army Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization'', accessed October 25, 2008.


Munitions destroyed

By early 1996, the facility at Johnston Atoll had destroyed about 3.5% of the overall U.S. chemical weapons stockpile.Koplow, David A. ''By Fire and Ice: Dismantling Chemical Weapons While Preserving the Environment''
Google Books
, Routledge, 1997, p. 85, (), accessed October 25, 2008.
Included in that amount, out of total stockpile of 31,000 tons, was two million pounds of mustard and nerve agents destroyed by JACADS. The disposal program was overseen by Project Manager Gary McCloskey, and during the ten years from 1990–2000 was responsible for the destruction of over 400,000 chemical rockets, projectiles, bombs, mortars, ton containers, and mines. Also destroyed at JACADS were over 2,000 tons of the nerve agents sarin and VX, as well as the
blister agent A blister agent (or vesicant), is a chemical compound that causes severe skin, eye and mucosal pain and irritation. They are named for their ability to cause severe chemical burns, resulting in painful water blisters on the bodies of those affe ...
HD. In total, the program at Johnston Atoll destroyed 412,000 individual chemical munitions.A Success Story: Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System
", ''
U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency The United States Army Chemical Materials Activity (CMA) is a separate reporting activity of the United States Army Materiel Command (AMC). Its role is to enhance national security by securely storing the remaining U.S. chemical warfare materiel ...
'', accessed October 25, 2008.
Mission accomplished: JACADS safely destroys over 400,000 chemical weapons on Johnston Island
, ( Press release), '' U.S. Environmental Protection Agency'', updated July 27, 2007, accessed October 25, 2008.


Accidents and incidents

There were a few chemical weapons related accidents during the period JACADS was in operation. In January 1993, the burster charge on a 105 mm
artillery shell A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage ...
ignited. The shell contained World War II-era mustard gas, though none was released and the incident resulted in no injuries. A later incident on March 23, 1994 resulted in the accidental release of sarin gas after a chemical agent line was opened for maintenance without properly purging the line with
fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
. The incident led to a $122,000 fine against the Army from the EPA. Another incident in November 1994 led to the explosion of a drained chemical rocket during mechanical removal of the fuse, but no leaks were reported. On December 9, 1993, a spill of about 500 pounds (226 kg) of Sarin (Agent GB) occurred inside the Munitions Demilitarization Building (MDB). There was no agent migration outside the building and the contingency plan was not activated. The facility suspended processing of munitions until investigation of the incident was satisfactorily completed. The
U.S. National Research Council The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrell ...
's Committee on Evaluation of Chemical Events at Army Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities was provided, by the Army, with a list of 39 incidents that occurred at JACADS from its opening until its closure. Of those 39 events, 24 were classified as chemical in nature.Committee on Evaluation of Chemical Events at Army Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. ''Evaluation of Chemical Events at Army Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities'',
Google Books
, p. 19,
U.S. National Research Council The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrell ...
, National Academies Press, 2002, ().
For example, five days after the last chemical weapons were destroyed at JACADS, VX was detected in ash from the
incinerator Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...
. The committee's evaluation of JACADS incidents was published in 2002.


Response and reaction

The 1990 shipments of nerve agents from West Germany to JACADS caused several South Pacific nations to express unease. At the 1990
South Pacific Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...
in Vanuatu, the island nations of the South Pacific indicated that their concern was that the South Pacific would become a toxic waste dumping ground.Anderson, Ian.
Protests grow over nerve gas disposal
, '' New Scientist'', August 11, 1990, accessed October 26, 2008.
Other concerns raised included the security of the shipments, which were refueled at sea and escorted by U.S. guided missile destroyers, while they were en route to Johnston Atoll. In Australia, Prime Minister
Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 â€“ 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
drew criticism from some of these
island nations An island country, island state or an island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...
for his support of the chemical weapons destruction at Johnston Atoll.Cooper, Andrew Fenton, et al. ''Relocating Middle Powers: Australia and Canada in a Changing World Order'',
Google Books
, UBC Press, 1993, p. 148, (), accessed October 25, 2008.


See also

*
Operation Steel Box Operation Steel Box, also known as Operation Golden Python (German name for the transport in Germany: Aktion Lindwurm), was a 1990 joint U.S.-West German operation which moved over 100,000 U.S. chemical weapons from Germany to Johnston Atoll. Ba ...
*
U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency The United States Army Chemical Materials Activity (CMA) is a separate reporting activity of the United States Army Materiel Command (AMC). Its role is to enhance national security by securely storing the remaining U.S. chemical warfare materiel ...


References


Further reading

*McCloskey, Gary.
Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System Mines Its Business
, ''Army Chemical Review'', August 2001, via
FindArticles.com ''FindArticles'' was a website which provided access to articles previously published in over 3,000 magazines, newspapers, journals, business reports and other sources. The site offered free and paid content through the HighBeam Research database ...
, accessed October 25, 2008. *Schreiber, E. A., Doherty, Jr., Paul F. and Schenk, Gary A. "Effects of a Chemical Weapons Incineration Plant on Red-Tailed Tropicbirds",
JSTOR
, ''The Journal of Wildlife Management'', Vol. 65, No. 4 October 2001, pp. 685–695 *
U.S. National Research Council The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrell ...
: Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program, ''Closure and Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System'',
Google Books
, National Academies Press, 2002, ().


External links



, T.E.D. Case Study, "The Mandala Project", ''
American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
'', May 1997, accessed October 25, 2008.
Johnston Island
, U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, official site, accessed October 25, 2008.
Cleanup of Johnston Atoll Missile Launch Facility
DOD FOIA declassified document. 24Mb. {{Authority control United States chemical weapons depots Johnston Atoll Chemical weapons destruction facilities 2000 disestablishments in the United States 1990 establishments in the United States Buildings and structures completed in 1990 1990 establishments in Oceania 2000 disestablishments in Oceania