Background
| Agent | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Sulfur Mustard (HD) | 578,339.6 pounds (262,330.4 kg) |
| Sarin (GB) | 2,639,462.4 pounds (1,197,240.0 kg) |
| VX Nerve Agent | 845,418.3 pounds (383,475.3 kg) |
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. These shipments followed a 1986 agreement between the U.S. and Germany to move the munitions. 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.
Read more about this topic: Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System
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