Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant leaders Jeff Brubaker, left, and Ron Hink speak to Kentucky Chemical Demilitarization Citizens’ Advisory Commission and Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board members during a meeting at Eastern Kentucky University Sept. 14. The advisory groups hold quarterly public meetings to allow community members to stay informed on project progress.
Leaders from the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) reported the facility built to destroy chemical weapons in Kentucky is more than halfway finished with its testing phase, known as systemization.
“I’m happy to report that start-up and systemization activities continue to move forward,” said Jeff Brubaker, site project manager, BGCAPP, during a quarterly public meeting Sept. 14. “We’re now at 57 percent complete.”
In the main plant—the facility that will destroy Kentucky’s nerve agent munitions—activities such as testing of conveyors, start-up of boilers and refurbishment of Enhanced On-site Containers continue, Brubaker said.
“For the Explosive Destruction Technology, a lot has happened in a short time frame,” said Ron Hink, project manager, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass. “The main components for the equipment are all set. If you’re out there today, you would see a facility that looks almost done.”
Brubaker and Hink each provided an update on weld repairs in the Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO) Processing Building. Nearly all of the 4,000 welds are complete and systems have been turned over to the start-up team for systemization and testing. Welders are waiting on specialized metals to arrive to repair the remaining 24 welds on six valves.
“Everything seemed to go ‘best case scenario’ in terms of the welders and materials,” said Craig Williams, co-chair, Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board (CDCAB). “I’m wondering if this glitch will impact overall schedule.”
The SCWO building is on a critical path, but the weld repair challenge should not affect the overall operations schedule, Hink said.
The next Kentucky Chemical Demilitarization Citizens’ Advisory Commission and CDCAB meeting will be held Dec. 14 at 1:30 p.m. in the Perkins Building at Eastern Kentucky University. Further information about these advisory groups is available on our Public Involvement page.
