Pueblo Chemical Depot builds new plant to neutralize chemical weapons

David Ortiviz
Pueblo Published May 21, 2008

East of Pueblo, construction is underway on a new multi-billion dollar processing plant at the Pueblo Chemical Depot. When completed the Department of Defense will use it to destroy 2,600 tons of chemical weapons currently stored in igloos at the depot. The project is expected to bring hundreds of new jobs to Pueblo.

"There's a lot of work going on out here," said Gary Anderson, site project manager for the Pueblo Chemical Depot. Workers are building several new buildings which collectively will be known as the Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant. Anderson says it's a $3.5 billion project.

The primary function of the plant will be to neutralize the mustard agent stored at the depot since the 1940s.

"The construction effort is going really well. We've got a lot of momentum, and we got a lot of good funding through fiscal year 08 and congress is currently debating the fiscal year 09 funding," said Anderson.

There are about 250 workers on the project so far and Bechtel, the primary contractor says it expects to hire more.

"We anticipate getting up to 300, 350 direct hire craft," said Paul Henry, the project manager for Bechtel.

The plant is scheduled to be completed by 2013 and open for operations in 2015. Bechtel says it may hire an additional 1,000 to neutralize the mustard agent. "Everything from technical, to munition handlers, to laborers, so it's really the whole gamut of skill sets," said Henry.

The Department of Defense is under a federal deadline to destroy the munitions by the end of 2017. By 2023, the plant is scheduled to be taken apart.