Blue Grass environmental representatives hosted a public meeting July 19 to support a permit modification request to the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection.

“The permit modification proposes regulatory approval for the Blue Grass plant to move and sample GB* projectiles for analysis purposes,” said Todd Williams, environmental manager, Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. “We are requesting a change based on additional information and actions necessary for the accurate functioning of plant analytical methods and the safety of our workforce, community and environment.”

Williams discussed the regulatory permitting process, public participation opportunities and the sampling operation and its importance for the Blue Grass plant.

“We are currently testing our equipment and methods using a hydrolysate created from pure agent,” Williams said. “The GB in our munitions is aged and contains impurities, so it will have different chemical compounds in it. To have the most effective analytical results, we need to use what we call munitions-grade agent, which we have proposed sampling from our own munitions. This necessitated the permit modification request.”

The meeting concluded after a brief question-and-answer session and was followed by a poster session and availability of project experts.

* a nerve agent also known as sarin, contained by certain munitions in the Blue Grass stockpile