POCHEP, Russia, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- A new plant that destroys Soviet-era chemical weapons has begun operations, Russia's industrial technology watchdog agency said Sunday.
The plant is located in Pochep, 250 miles southwest of Moscow, and is the sixth facility in Russia to dismantle and dispose of Cold War chemical weapons.
"The technology used at the Pochep facility allows us to completely destroy not only chemical agents and products of detoxification, but also the munitions," Nikolai Kutyin, the head of Rostechnadzor, said in a written statement.
Russia's RIA Novosti news agency said the Pochep facility was expected to scrap about 40,000 tons of munitions during its operational span. That amounts to 19 percent of the total Russian stockpile.
Rostechnadzor is the Russian Federal Mining and Industrial Inspectorate. It oversees environmental and industrial safety in Russia.
