ATLANTA, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- The French Ministry of Interior has contracted a U.S. company to design and build equipment capable of destroying chemical munitions used during World War I.
"We feel very honored at our selection to spearhead this project," said Jeff Gold, president of Atlanta's Integrated Environmental Services. "Adapting our existing processing technologies to handle these weapons allows us to design and deploy the equipment in a very cost-effective and timely manner.
IES said the contract involves a two-phase effort, resulting in the delivery of an innovative transportable system capable of processing up to 10 munitions a day using its patented container accessing technology.
IES will provide three transportable "modules," including an enclosed processing module, a control/laboratory module and a supplies and logistics module.
Warfare agents extracted from the shells will be chemically neutralized on site or stabilized for disposal at commercial waste management facilities.
The system will be stationed at a military reservation in northeast France but is designed for transport and use in other areas, the company said.
The project is expected to last approximately 1.5 years and entails both a design and a fabrication, testing and training phase that will be done in close coordination with the French government.
More than 66 million chemical rounds were fired by English, French and German forces during World War I. About 20-25 percent of the shells didn't detonate and remained buried where they fell.
Tons of munitions -- containing mustard agent, phosgene and other chemical agents -- are unearthed every year by farmers and during civil construction projects. Recovered shells are stored at secure depots. Most of the shells in storage have deteriorated and pose serious leakage and explosive hazards.
