CAMBRIDGE, Mass.---Arthur D. Little, one of the world's premier management and technology consulting firms, has signed a multi-million dollar contract with the United States Army to provide program management and technical support in the destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile. The five-year contract will range from $40-60 million depending on the work assignments.
The catalyst for the project is the April 1997 United Nations' Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty (CWC), which bans the use, development, production and stockpiling of all chemical warfare agents and requires the destruction of existing stockpiles by April 2007. As of March 2001, 143 nations had ratified the treaty, including the United States.
Under the terms of the contract, chemists, safety/risk specialists, chemical engineers, mechanical engineers and civil engineers from Arthur D. Little will assist the Army in the destruction of more than 24,000 tons of chemical agents that are located at sites throughout the United States.
"Arthur D. Little will assist the US Army to ensure that the existing stockpiled weapons are eliminated as safely and efficiently as possible, within a reasonable cost to taxpayers,'' said Armand Balasco, Vice President and Director of Arthur D. Little's Global Environment and Risk Practice. "Our extensive hands-on experience in the chemical weapons demilitarization area and our understanding of the technical operations at demilitarization sites will help assure that the program is completed in the most expeditious manner as possible without posing harm to citizens or the environment.''
Work will range from decommissioning and closure of the demilitarization facility on Johnston Atoll, Pacific Ocean, where 2,031 tons of chemical agents has been recently destroyed, to continuing demilitarization operations at Tooele, Utah, to facility construction/startup of operations at the remaining seven continental US locations.
"Maintaining momentum in our program is vital to the safety of our communities and to meeting our international treaty obligations. We have made tremendous progress in the safe destruction of chemical agents and munitions in an environmentally sound manner while continually addressing the challenges that such an endeavor brings,'' Dr. Joseph Westphal, Acting Secretary of the Army, stated before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Our results are significant and so are our obstacles ...We are meeting our CWC obligations while fulfilling our commitment to safety to our workers, our communities and our environment. Indeed, we are truly making chemical weapons history.''
Arthur D. Little is the world's premier consulting firm working at the interface of business and the technologies that drive innovation and growth. Drawing on its unique blend of knowledge and hands-on experience across global industries, the firm collaborates with its clients to develop significant breakthroughs in practices, products, and processes that lead to dramatic growth and the creation of new value.
-ends-
Arthur D. Little Awarded Multi-Million Dollar Contract to Advise U. S. Army on Destruction of Chemical Weapons
