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Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)
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      Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)


      Mission: The safe elimination of chemical weapons at Pueblo and Blue Grass by Sept. 30, 2023

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      Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP)

      BGCAPP is safely destroying the chemical weapons stockpile currently in storage at the Blue Grass Army Depot near Richmond, Kentucky.

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      Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP)

      PCAPP is safely destroying the chemical weapons stockpile currently in storage at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado.

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Blue Grass Training Department Transitions as Project Does

Published: August 13, 2015 | Category: BGCAPP News, Systemization
Chuck Mecham, training specialist, provides project workers with safety basics as he prepares to demonstrate how to operate a scissor lift, often used on the Blue Grass site for performing construction and maintenance duties.

Chuck Mecham, training specialist, provides project workers with safety basics as he prepares to demonstrate how to operate a scissor lift, often used on the Blue Grass site for performing construction and maintenance duties.

Chuck Mecham gets to lift people up, take them down, be confined with them in tight spaces and run them in zig-zags, all in the name of chemical weapons destruction.

As a training specialist, part of Mecham’s job involves training Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant workers on man lifts, in tight spaces such as vessels and tanks and to maneuver construction and maintenance equipment. Thanks to him and the other professionals in the Training Department, hundreds of workers are well educated in plans and procedures, as well as rules and regulations leading to the safe operation of this complex project.

“We provide knowledge to people who don’t have that knowledge. It’s as simple as that,” said Mecham. “I get to meet new people and teach them new things. I thoroughly enjoy the interaction.”

Made up of approximately 20 people with backgrounds in many different disciplines, the Training Department has a variety of capabilities. Their specialties range from coursework development to in-the-field equipment instruction and video production. The application of this foundation all begins with the initial training new employees receive before they start their jobs.

“As a new hire, the new employee training was the stepping stone to ensuring my successful start on the project,” said Kellie Isola, communications intern. “Without this information about the project, its complexity and all of its moving parts in the training, I would have felt a lot less confident about moving forward to begin my work.”

As the project transitions from construction to systemization, so too, does project training.

“We’ve been planning for this shift for a long time,” Mecham said. “We started developing systems training coursework years ago, knowing it was coming. Some is already in action and some is waiting until it is needed.”

As the transition continues, the project workforce is also transitioning. As skilled craft workers finish their projects, more technicians, control room operators and other professionals are coming on board. Equipment is changing from backhoes, welders and scaffolding to computers and test meters. This necessitates a shift in instruction as well, from hands-on and face-to-face to the addition of more computer-based training. The Training Department is adapting from course development to instruction to accommodate these changes.

“As our development work ends, we are moving to focus on training people in the coursework we have developed,” said Mecham. “What I enjoy is the fact that all of our efforts will end with our making the world a safer place with the destruction of the chemical weapons.”

More BGCAPP Systemization Articles

  • Readiness Review is Next Step to VX Destruction Campaign

    Readiness Review is Next Step to VX Destruction Campaign

    Published: December 2, 2020
  • Technicians work on a munitions transfer tray during operations procedure testing for 8-inch inert projectiles at the Munitions Washout System at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in May.

    System Starts Processing 8-inch Test Projectiles

    Published: May 25, 2018
  • A multidisciplinary team participates in the Systemization Demonstration Procedure for the Energetics Neutralization System in the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant's Control Room.

    Team Completes Demonstration of Key System

    Published: January 30, 2018
  • Control Room operators run the Agent Neutralization System systemization demonstration procedure as government observers take note. The system completed demonstration ahead of schedule on Aug. 30.

    Team Demonstrates Agent Neutralization System

    Published: September 20, 2017
  • Workers install the cap on the ventilation stack for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Control and Support Building Filter Bank in 2013. Today, the CSB heating, ventilation and air conditioning system has passed its systemization demonstration procedure and will be turned over to operations.

    Air-Handling System Passes Test

    Published: September 11, 2017
  • An observer watches a projectile tray move down the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Tray Handling System as part of a demonstration procedure. This system was turned over to operations Aug. 1.

    Conveyor System Turned Over to Operations

    Published: August 23, 2017
  • Systemization personnel tag Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Agent Collection System Room piping for ease of identification before performing a System Demonstration Procedure.

    First Blue Grass Plant Agent System Turned Over to Operations

    Published: June 8, 2017
  • A Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant operator opens a valve to allow demineralized water to flow into the plant’s 40,000-gallon Process Water Tank.

    Portable Purifier Cleans Blue Grass Plant Process Water

    Published: May 23, 2017
  • A Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant systemization team member watches a Metal Parts Treater airlock door operate during testing in March. Thorough testing, observation and notation are key components of the Pilot Test Demonstration Plan, required by regulators before pilot testing can begin.

    Blue Grass Team Begins Pilot-Test Plan

    Published: May 9, 2017
  • Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant instrument and control technicians calibrate instrumentation in the Utility Building to ensure it functions as designed.

    Blue Grass Technicians Calibrate Plant Instrumentation

    Published: March 22, 2017
BGCAPP Training

Other Recent BGCAPP News

  • Teamwork Key to Removing Used Carbon Filters

    Teamwork Key to Removing Used Carbon Filters

    April 19, 2022
  • New Tank Safely Lowered Through Roof

    New Tank Safely Lowered Through Roof

    March 30, 2022
  • Former Mustard Destruction Facility Passes Crucial Test

    Former Mustard Destruction Facility Passes Crucial Test

    March 1, 2022
  • Comment Period Open for Public Input on Draft Environmental Permit

    Comment Period Open for Public Input on Draft Environmental Permit

    February 23, 2022
  • Decontamination Efforts Begin on Projectile Equipment

    Decontamination Efforts Begin on Projectile Equipment

    February 8, 2022
  • Equipment Removed for Site Upgrade

    Equipment Removed for Site Upgrade

    February 1, 2022
  • From Tents to Today, a Year at the New Site

    From Tents to Today, a Year at the New Site

    January 27, 2022
  • Key Defense Official Tours Blue Grass Plant

    Key Defense Official Tours Blue Grass Plant

    December 21, 2021

Related Videos

  • Kentucky Chemical Weapons Destruction: 2019 Year in Review

    Kentucky Chemical Weapons Destruction: 2019 Year in Review

    December 12, 2019
  • Blue Grass Plant Progress – August 2019

    Blue Grass Plant Progress – August 2019

    September 20, 2019
  • Blue Grass Plant Progress – July 2019

    Blue Grass Plant Progress – July 2019

    August 20, 2019
  • Blue Grass Plant Progress – June 2019

    Blue Grass Plant Progress – June 2019

    July 1, 2019
  • Blue Grass Plant Progress – May 2019

    Blue Grass Plant Progress – May 2019

    June 6, 2019

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Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)