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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: Destroy Chemical Weapons Stockpile

      Vision: Chemical Weapons Free by 2023

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      Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP)

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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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Fundamental Steps Prepare Pueblo Plant for Operations

Published: September 15, 2015 | Category: PCAPP News, Safety
An evaluator watches as an Emergency Response Team performs an acid spill drill at the Pueblo plant. Drills are conducted routinely as a part of plant optimization.

An evaluator watches as an Emergency Response Team performs an acid spill drill at the Pueblo plant. Drills are conducted routinely as a part of plant optimization.

The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) can begin operations once the workforce and equipment demonstrate readiness in four general areas.

Provisional Operations

Provisional Operations, a period in which operations and maintenance staff gain proficiency and complete their individual certifications, began in March 2015 and is ongoing. Activities began in the Yard and Enhanced Reconfiguration Building (ERB) and then moved to the Agent Processing Building (APB). “Evolutions include conducting Demilitarization Protective Ensemble (DPE) entries at night to perform preventive maintenance activities, strainer cleanouts, and treaty sampling,” said Kim Jackson, deputy plant manager. Jackson said simulated munitions containing simulated agent were processed through the Munitions Washout Station and Munitions Treatment Unit, and water was processed in the Agent Neutralization Reactors to complete the training exercise.

“The most significant contingency practiced thus far was the agent alarm response,” Jackson noted. Drills were performed in the ERB and expanded to include the Chemical Limited Area, the access restricted area where agent-filled munitions are stored and will be processed. The agent alarm response training was on a large-scale and involved all PCAPP employees so they understand what to do if a real incident occurs.

Integrated Facility Testing

“Integrated Facility Testing is the final electrical system testing for the plant,” Jackson explained. “It required all systems to be operable in order to perform a full-blown global loss of power recovery on our diesel generators.” Integrated Facility Testing began in August 2015.

Optimization

Optimization is defined as the act, process or methodology of making a system as fully functional or effective as possible. At PCAPP, it is the period when formal exercises are conducted and graded by plant staff to verify readiness. “Optimization is broken into three increasing levels of complexity and all four crews perform plant evolutions,” said Rick Holmes, project manager. During Level 1, every crew will demonstrate its ability to receive and process munitions through the ERB, and conduct contingency exercises; Level 2 involves processing of munitions in the APB, as well as DPE entries, sampling and maintenance; and Level 3 prepares staff for Integrated Operations Demonstrations by conducting evolutions across the entire plant. Three separate 35-day evolutions will be performed.

Integrated Operations Demonstrations

Integrated Operations Demonstrations are formal graded exercises by plant staff and stakeholders, including Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, to verify readiness. These include normal operations in the ERB and APB. In addition, a variety of contingencies are performed to confirm personnel are fully capable of recovering the plant.

“Integrated ops demonstrations are the final graded drills that confirm the plant is ready for agent operations,” Jackson said.

MOre PCAPP Safety Articles

  • Toxic Material Handlers from the Pueblo Chemical Depot load a pallet of munitions onto a Modified Ammunition Vehicle, or MAV.

    Toxic Material Handlers Keep Up with Demand

    Published: April 6, 2021
  • Strict Protocols Keep Pueblo Plant Safe

    Strict Protocols Keep Pueblo Plant Safe

    Published: January 20, 2021
  • Plants Operate with Pandemic Precautions in Place

    Plants Operate with Pandemic Precautions in Place

    Published: December 17, 2020
  • Safety System at Pueblo Plant Receives Upgrade

    Safety System at Pueblo Plant Receives Upgrade

    Published: November 20, 2020
  • Plant Sets Best Three-Month Processing Record

    Plant Sets Best Three-Month Processing Record

    Published: October 7, 2020
  • Pueblo Plant Operating Under Final Hazardous Waste Permit

    Pueblo Plant Operating Under Final Hazardous Waste Permit

    Published: October 1, 2020
  • A Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant ordnance technician prepares to transfer the final 155mm projectile for destruction on Sept. 5. The munition goes into the Munitions Washout System where agent is gravity drained before it is neutralized.

    Pueblo Plant Completes 155mm Mustard Projectile Destruction Campaign

    Published: September 8, 2020
  • Members of the Colorado Chemical Demilitarization Citizens' Advisory Commission (from left): Doug Knappe, Bob Jonardi, Velma Campbell, John Norton, Irene Kornelly, Terry Hart, Ken Griffin and Jeff Chostner.

    Colorado Commission Members Commend Pueblo Team Effort

    Published: September 8, 2020
  • Pueblo Plant Workers Receive Final 155mm Projectiles for Destruction

    Pueblo Plant Workers Receive Final 155mm Projectiles for Destruction

    Published: September 2, 2020
  • Electrically powered servo motors that raise and lower the Cavity Access Machine bails, which secure a munition when it is punched open at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, are being replaced with pneumatic cylinders harnessing the pressurized air supply already in the Munitions Washout System rooms.

    Air Supply Offers Alternative Power Source to Wiring in Corrosive Area

    Published: February 20, 2020
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Related Videos

  • PCAPP Rescue Training: It’s All About Safety

    PCAPP Rescue Training: It’s All About Safety

    October 1, 2015

Related News

  • Pueblo Plant Resumes Chemical Agent Destruction

    Pueblo Plant Resumes Chemical Agent Destruction

    June 21, 2019
  • Pueblo Plant Employee Groups Drive Innovation

    Pueblo Plant Employee Groups Drive Innovation

    June 17, 2019
  • Pueblo Plant Regains a Containment Area After Thorough Cleanup

    Pueblo Plant Regains a Containment Area After Thorough Cleanup

    May 23, 2019
  • Alert Pueblo Plant Workers Keep Downtime to a Minimum

    Alert Pueblo Plant Workers Keep Downtime to a Minimum

    April 1, 2019
  • Exercise Tests Response of Pueblo Plant

    Exercise Tests Response of Pueblo Plant

    February 25, 2019

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