The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, will host a public availability session to discuss the issuance of a draft Toxic Substances Control Act approval for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) at 6 p.m., July 20, at the Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office.

“This approval will allow the project to store and process M55 rocket shipping and firing tubes during the leaker campaign, when rockets that have leaked in storage and have been securely overpacked will be processed” said Bill Buchanan, environmental permitting manager, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass. “These shipping and firing tubes may contain polychlorinated biphenyls, better known as PCBs, hence the need for the approval. Munitions treated during the leaker campaign comprise only a small portion of the overall stockpile and currently only include GB munitions.”

During normal operations, shipping and firing tubes will be removed from the rockets prior to the chemical-agent destruction process and will be disposed of as a separate waste stream, Buchanan said. Because these tubes will not be contaminated with chemical agent, they can be disposed of off-site at a permitted Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility.

From the draft approval: The EPA has reviewed the application for the BGCAPP and has determined that the storage and treatment of PCB waste in accordance with the conditions of the PCB Approval and Commonwealth and local operating permits, will not pose an unreasonable risk of injury to human health or the environment.

The public has an opportunity to provide comments regarding the approval now through Aug. 16. For more information, or to read the draft, visit the BGCAPP Environmental Activities page.