Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) Emergency Response Team members conduct rescue training exercises June 3. Sixteen defined activities will be performed starting in August as a part of Integrated Operations Demonstrations at PCAPP.

The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Plant (PCAPP) will conduct demonstrations in August to display readiness for operations.

“Integrated Operations Demonstrations (IOD) are used to show our plant, paper and people are ready to move into agent operations,” said Paul Dent, Operational Readiness Review manager. “They will help the stakeholders decide if they agree with PCAPP’s certification of readiness.”

Representatives from key government agencies will observe as PCAPP employees operate the entire facility, using inert munitions and water to simulate actual munitions and agent. Normal operations will be demonstrated, including the delivery, disassembly, rinsing and decontamination of munitions, treaty sampling, agent neutralization and biotreatment. Support activities such as the laboratory, medical, maintenance and waste management will also be included in these comprehensive demonstrations, Dent said.

To validate the facility is ready for off-normal events, emergency response demonstrations will include reacting to simulated agent monitoring system alarms, leaking or reject munitions, industrial accident or chemical spill with injuries or exposure and the loss and recovery of power, Dent said.

“IODs culminate a rigorous readiness review process designed to validate that the plant is ready to safely and compliantly destroy mustard agent,” said Dent.

Each participating review agency has a different focus as to what they are looking for when deciding if the plant is ready. For example, the Centers for Disease Control is interested in workforce health and safety. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment wants to ensure the plant is being operated in accordance with approved permits and the Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity will evaluate whether plant systems are working as they were designed, said Greg Mohrman, site project manager, PCAPP.

Other agencies participating in the demonstrations include the Department of Defense, Developmental Test and Evaluation; Department of Defense, Operational Test and Evaluation, and the Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, Mohrman said.