More than 40 years of history is coming to a close at the Blue Grass Army Depot.
The next few weeks, WEKU and Eastern Standard are presenting a radio series about the past, present and future of the depot, the stockpile of chemical weapons that was recently destroyed inside and the economic implications for Madison County.
The mission of getting the chemical weapons safely destroyed began in 1984. That’s when the U.S. Army publicly announced they were planning to incinerate the stockpile at the depot outside Richmond. Concerned citizens like Craig Williams were worried the process was unsafe and that toxic material, including live chemical agent, could come out of the nearby smokestacks.
“As we found out as time went along, the materials coming out of that smokestack, even when it operated as designed at the prototype facilities, was not protective,” Williams said. “There was all sorts of toxic material, including live chemical warfare agent being emitted out of these stacks.
Williams helped organize a grassroots movement that helped convince the Pentagon to stop their plans of incineration at the Blue Grass Army Depot in favor of a safer neutralization process. He was interviewed by Eastern Standard’s Tom Martin.
“The citizens' coalition had gone from a NIMBY position, not in my backyard, to a NOPE position, not on planet Earth, which indicated that we were all united in making sure that everyone was protected equally,” Williams said.
More with Williams and other key players is coming up on this Thursday’s episode of Eastern Standard, which will discuss the full history and context of the Blue Grass Army Depot’s place in central Kentucky.
