CDC: U.S. finishes destroying chemical weapons stockpile

The U.S. on Friday destroyed the last of over 30,000 tons of stockpiled chemical weapons, eliminating a major public health threat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today. The Department of Defense began destroying the weapons at sites across the country in 1990, as required by Congress in 1986 and an international arms control treaty the nation ratified in 1997, with the CDC providing independent oversight to protect public health and safety.