As of July 7, 2023 - the world is officially free of chemical weapons. The US destroyed its last chemical weapon Friday at the Bluegrass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in Kentucky.

Geoff Brumfiel reporting for NPR:

There are still nations who have used covertly produced chemical weapons in recent years. Most notably, Syria deployed chlorine and nerve agents in its civil war with horrible effects. Russia has used some chemicals for targeted assassination attempts, and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un used nerve agent to kill his half brother.

But those are isolated cases. More broadly, vast quantities of chemical weapons have been disposed of by nations all over the world. And Reif says that overall that’s something to celebrate.

“These are awful weapons,” he says. “The world is a safer and more secure place without them.”

With all of the doom & gloom in the news today, this is surely something that we can all celebrate.