PUEBLO — It's bittersweet,” said Pueblo Chemical Depot, Plant Manager, Kim Jackson, “We're doing something very important for our community, to rid Colorado of dangerous chemical weapons but we're also working ourselves out of a job.”
The destruction of chemical weapons stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot is just days away from completion.
“We have been actively working to destroy 780,000 chemical weapons. We started in September of 2016, and we now have less than 4000 rounds to destroy,” said Jackson.
It is first diffusing live explosives and then removing deadly mustard agent.
Roughly 1,500 employees do the work.
The dedication and skills of the depot employees are recognized.
Plans are in action to help them transition to new jobs.
“We need to do everything we can to help them as they leave this adventure and move on to their next,” said Jackson
There are companies from other cities and states recruiting.
The new employment plans also include efforts to find transitions to nearby companies because many of the workers are from the Pueblo area and want to stay local.
A new purpose for the depot complex is also in the works.
“16,000 acres of the 23,000 acre Pueblo Chemical depot has already been deemed surplus property. We're redeveloping that property presently,” said PuebloPlex President & CEO, Russell DeSalvo, “The next step is 7000 acres upon which the PCAT facility sits, [it] is our next redevelopment project.”
PuebloPlex was created to ensure an economic future for the depot property and facilities.
“We're secure and the remoteness is actually an incentive for folks wanting to do research and development work,” said DeSalvo.
Other assets include railway access, laboratories, and an electricity substation.
The PuebloPlex team is in talks with leaders from multiple industries.
“Think biofuels, manufacturing, think battery manufacturing, think aerospace,” said DeSalvo.
After the last chemical weapons are destroyed it will take close to two years to decommission the facility.
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