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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)

      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)

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Perimeter Air Monitoring System Installed as Additional Safety Measure at Blue Grass Plant

Published: April 18, 2016 | Category: BGCAPP News, Environment
A laboratory monitoring technician opens the door to one of the Depot Area Air Monitoring System perimeter monitoring enclosures. Eight of these enclosures have been placed around the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant site on the Blue Grass Army Depot to provide a record of air samples taken daily in the area.

A laboratory monitoring technician opens the door to one of the Depot Area Air Monitoring System perimeter monitoring enclosures. Eight of these enclosures have been placed around the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant site on the Blue Grass Army Depot to provide a record of air samples taken daily in the area.

Workers completed installation of an air-monitoring system in March which places monitors between the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) and the Blue Grass Army Depot installation boundary.

“We are doing this as another measure to protect the workers, the community and the environment,” said Jamie Hess, government shift representative, BGCAPP.

“This monitoring network is very similar to monitoring performed at previous chemical agent destruction facilities. By monitoring near the installation borders, we can provide a record to verify that no emissions have escaped our facilities which are maintained under engineering controls,” Hess said.

The network, known as perimeter monitoring, consists of eight Depot Area Air Monitoring Systems (DAAMS) stations at specific areas downwind of the chemical weapons destruction facility on the Blue Grass Army Depot. It will continuously sample the air for traces of chemical agent during plant operations.

“The DAAMS perimeter network will provide historical monitoring to augment the extensive agent monitoring system at the facility,” said Steve Downing, laboratory manager, Battelle. “Sample analysis results will provide a record of air quality for the safe and compliant operation of the facility.”

Technicians have installed sampling equipment in the perimeter monitoring enclosures for mustard-agent monitoring, in support of the upcoming Explosive Destruction Technology operations, and are performing tests to validate the integrity of the sampling systems, said Downing. They are fully trained on the equipment and procedures for its use in the laboratory before conducting these tests in the field, but are now becoming proficient in location-specific aspects of the process such as routes and protocols that must be followed while driving in the depot’s restricted area to access these stations.

Next steps for the system will be to collect background data for assessing sampling methods, Hess said. This will then progress to a baseline study, which will collect daily samples over time to build a history of existing conditions before the processing of munitions at the facility.

More BGCAPP Environment Articles

  • Technicians program a Rocket Warhead Containerization System robot inside the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in February. This equipment is the subject of one of four Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection permit modification requests currently in a public comment period.

    Public Involvement Opportunities for Permit Modification Requests

    Published: April 5, 2021
  • Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modification Requests

    Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modification Requests

    Published: January 28, 2021
  • First-Time Filter Change Activity

    First-Time Filter Change Activity

    Published: December 29, 2020
  • Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modification

    Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modification

    Published: October 13, 2020
  • Blue Grass plant munitions handlers unpack filters in anticipation of the Explosive Destruction Technology Service Magazine filter changeout at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant

    Workers Complete Filter Change

    Published: August 20, 2020
  • Site preparation continues at the Blue Grass Static Detonation Chamber (SDC) 2000 at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

    Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modifications

    Published: July 16, 2020
  • A waste operator practices moving waste drums on pallets at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Container Storage Facility. The plant’s hazardous waste is regulated by a standard hazardous waste permit through the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection.

    Permit Conversion Public Comment Period Open Through Dec. 11

    Published: December 5, 2019
  • A technician watches as a tray of test projectile bodies moves through the Metal Parts Treater (MPT) for a conveyor alignment check at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. The MPT Surrogate Test Plan was the subject of a recent Class 1 modification to the plant’s hazardous waste permit.

    Minor Permit Modifications Routine Business for Plant

    Published: August 20, 2019
  • Col. Joseph Kurz, commander, Blue Grass Army Depot, discusses Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant processes with Ron Hink, project manager, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass. The commander signed his acceptance of a Finding of No Significant Impact generated from a May 2019 environmental assessment for augmentation of plant processing capability July 1.

    Signature Signals Path Forward for Additional Equipment

    Published: July 25, 2019
  • Madison County, Kentucky, residents listen to a presentation about the environmental assessment for the proposed action for processing nerve agent-filled munitions at the Blue Grass Army Depot at a May 21 public meeting. The public comment period for this action ends June 17.

    Environmental Assessment Public Comment Period Open Through June 17

    Published: May 31, 2019
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Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)