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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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Specialists Protect Plant Workforce from Physical Hazards

Published: March 7, 2018 | Category: BGCAPP News, Safety
  • A safety engineer points out potential workplace hazards around a cryogenic nitrogen tank to a team of medical and industrial hygiene personnel at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

    A safety engineer points out potential workplace hazards around a cryogenic nitrogen tank to a team of medical and industrial hygiene personnel at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. Specialists assess health hazards in workplaces around the site and provide information on restrictions or protective gear to keep workers safe.

  • Site specialists and medical personnel discuss potential hazards in a work area at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

    Site specialists and medical personnel discuss potential hazards in a work area at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

Industrial hygiene and safety specialists work daily to mitigate health hazards that may exist around the pilot plant.

“These groups look at potential hazards to the physical body,” said David Moragne, safety specialist, Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. “Experts go to work areas and identify if there is excess acoustic energy, if the atmosphere is oxygen-deficient or if there are confined-space hazards, among other things. They then determine what individual restriction or additional safety protection is necessary for those environments.”

Those restrictions could include vibration barriers, cooling structures or devices, or a change to an operating procedure, Moragne said. Safety protection could include requirements to wear leather gloves, face shields or ear plugs.

As new work areas are designated or operating procedures developed, specialists evaluate those environments for hazards. Then, they develop a job safety analysis specifying the restrictions or protective gear required before work can be performed there, said Charlie Satterwhite, industrial hygiene manager, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass.

“For a maintenance-type job, we assess each situation and determine the hazards. It is often a one-time job, such as removing and replacing a piece of siding,” Satterwhite said. “For more involved procedures, such as start-up and operation of processing equipment, a team will go through and assess the operating procedure step-by-step.

“Any occupational environment that presents health hazards, whether to hearing, sight, skin, lungs or more, must have proper controls for the people who work in it. Our priority is to have our workers leave the plant every day in the condition in which they arrived.”

More BGCAPP Safety Articles

  • Drill Enhances Emergency Response

    Drill Enhances Emergency Response

    Published: February 9, 2021
  • Program Partner Plays Key Role in Destruction Activities

    Program Partner Plays Key Role in Destruction Activities

    Published: January 28, 2021
  • Plants Operate with Pandemic Precautions in Place

    Plants Operate with Pandemic Precautions in Place

    Published: December 17, 2020
  • Decision Made Regarding Use of Secondary System

    Decision Made Regarding Use of Secondary System

    Published: September 10, 2020
  • Public Meeting Changes to Virtual Platform

    Public Meeting Changes to Virtual Platform

    Published: September 3, 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
  • Extensive Planning Leads to Successful Operation

    Extensive Planning Leads to Successful Operation

    Published: August 28, 2020
  • Blue Grass plant munitions handlers unpack filters in anticipation of the Explosive Destruction Technology Service Magazine filter changeout at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant

    Workers Complete Filter Change

    Published: August 20, 2020
  • Toxic Area entrants decontaminate the Agent Neutralization System room at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant with a caustic solution after the conclusion of the GB 8-inch projectile campaign. (Still image from closed-circuit television.)

    Workers Start Facility Decontamination

    Published: June 16, 2020
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More BGCAPP Training Articles

  • Kentucky Team Trains for Toxic Entries

    Kentucky Team Trains for Toxic Entries

    May 4, 2018
  • Partners Practice Response in Integrated Spill Drill

    Partners Practice Response in Integrated Spill Drill

    February 14, 2018
  • Technicians Use Mist and Light to Test Filters

    Technicians Use Mist and Light to Test Filters

    February 7, 2018
  • Depth of Experience Critical to Operations Training

    Depth of Experience Critical to Operations Training

    January 23, 2018
  • Protective Suit Sealer Ready for Operations

    Protective Suit Sealer Ready for Operations

    December 28, 2017

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