Richmond

The United States Department of Defense has added $47 million in funding to the fiscal year 2009 budget to support the disposal of chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who requested the increase, said that he was very pleased with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ decision to provide the additional funding, adding that it would “help ensure that the chemical weapons stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot are not only disposed of safely but also more quickly.”  According to information on the Depot’s Web site, Blue Grass stores 523 tons, approximately 1.7 percent, of the nation’s original stockpile of chemical weapons, which includes projectiles and rockets containing nerve agents GB (Sarin) and VX, and mustard or blister agent.  McConnell noted that the funding approval was “only the first step in the FY’09 budget process, but as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will fight to secure these additional resources in the final bill.”