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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)

      PCAPP is safely destroying the chemical weapons stockpile currently in storage at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado.

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Blue Grass to Use Custom Device for Agent Sampling

Published: August 18, 2017 | Category: BGCAPP News, Technology
A technician demonstrates a device that will drill and tap projectiles to extract GB agent for Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Laboratory analytical optimization and development needs.

A technician demonstrates a device that will drill and tap projectiles to extract GB agent for Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Laboratory analytical optimization and development needs.

Technicians will use a purpose-built drilling device to access the cavity in 8-inch M426 projectiles to collect samples of GB agent to meet Blue Grass Laboratory needs.

“This drill is a smaller version of the device used for access of the Syrian chemical weapons destroyed on the Motor Vessel Cape Ray,” said Ed Parshley, supervisory chemical engineer, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC). “It will drill and tap the projectile, allowing the operators to extract the agent safely.”

The operation requires three personnel, and it will take about an hour to set up, drill and sample the projectile, Parshley said. The drilled and sealed munitions will be overpacked and delivered to a designated storage unit on the Blue Grass Army Depot, while the team will prepare the extracted agent for transport to an ECBC facility, where samples will be prepared for Blue Grass Laboratory analysis and use.

“The GB we have been using for testing and monitoring purposes is a high-purity agent and does not account for impurities that will be found in our aged projectiles, such as stabilizer chemicals and degradation byproducts,” said Eddie Whitworth, deputy site project manager, Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. “To optimize processes and accurately test our monitoring equipment, we will be extracting GB agent from two projectiles.”

The team performing the extraction will come from ECBC, which has years of experience in this kind of operation, Whitworth said. The operation will take place in a sealed glovebox inside an environmental enclosure in the Blue Grass Chemical Activity’s Chemical Limited Area.

More BGCAPP Technology Articles

  • In this file photograph from August 2018, Dr. George Lucier, deputy chief scientist, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass, explains to members of a public working group the rerouting of piping in the Supercritical Water Oxidation Processing Building to prepare for the possibility of hydrolysate shipment at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. The decision was made in August 2020 to ship the hydrolysate to a permitted disposal facility for final destruction.

    Decision Made on Hydrolysate Treatment

    Published: March 31, 2021
  • VX Destruction Requires Change in Air Monitoring

    VX Destruction Requires Change in Air Monitoring

    Published: March 3, 2021
  • Specialized Equipment Arrives at Blue Grass Plant

    Specialized Equipment Arrives at Blue Grass Plant

    Published: November 18, 2020
  • Public Comment Invited on Plant Permit Modification Request

    Public Comment Invited on Plant Permit Modification Request

    Published: October 27, 2020
  • New Equipment Installed for Training

    New Equipment Installed for Training

    Published: October 26, 2020
  • Decision Made Regarding Use of Secondary System

    Decision Made Regarding Use of Secondary System

    Published: September 10, 2020
  • A munitions handler marks a box containing mustard agent-filled projectiles prior to destruction in the Explosive Destruction Technology facility at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. Destruction of 50% of the mustard munitions was achieved Sept. 1.

    Half of Blue Grass Mustard Agent Destroyed

    Published: September 2, 2020
  • Testing Simulated Warheads Assists Destruction Efforts

    Testing Simulated Warheads Assists Destruction Efforts

    Published: August 31, 2020
  • A worker drills holes in the concrete floor to install an equipment mounting plate in the Munitions Demilitarization Building at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

    Rocket Processing Changes Lead to Plant Updates

    Published: July 31, 2020
  • A robot places a containerized test rocket warhead on an autonomous vehicle during factory acceptance testing of the Rocket Warhead Containerization System for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

    New Rocket Processing System Passes Test

    Published: July 9, 2020
BGCAPP Equipment

Related BGCAPP News

  • System Starts Processing 8-inch Test Projectiles

    System Starts Processing 8-inch Test Projectiles

    May 25, 2018
  • Team Works to Ensure Critical Balance

    Team Works to Ensure Critical Balance

    May 18, 2018
  • Technicians Start Air Filtration System for First Time

    Technicians Start Air Filtration System for First Time

    May 16, 2018
  • Water Systems Turned Over to Operations

    Water Systems Turned Over to Operations

    April 27, 2018
  • Experts: 21 Systems Turned Over to Operations

    Experts: 21 Systems Turned Over to Operations

    March 29, 2018
  • Major Neutralization System Passes Demonstration

    Major Neutralization System Passes Demonstration

    March 21, 2018
  • Key Blue Grass Systems Tested

    Key Blue Grass Systems Tested

    February 28, 2018

Related BGCAPP Info

  • Facts: Blue Grass ACWA Test Equipment

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Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)