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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: The safe elimination of chemical weapons at Pueblo and Blue Grass by Sept. 30, 2023

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      Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP)

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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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Training Begins for 4.2-inch Mortar Rounds

Published: March 9, 2018 | Category: PCAPP News, Safety
A Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant ordnance technician removes the rear assembly of a 4.2-inch simulated mortar round with the twin spindle removal machine.

A Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant ordnance technician removes the rear assembly of a 4.2-inch simulated mortar round with the twin spindle removal machine.

Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant ordnance technicians began training to reconfigure 4.2-inch mortar rounds Feb. 26.

“We are practicing handling, removal of propellants and ignitors, packaging, and re-palletizing in preparation to send the mortar rounds back to the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot for storage,” said Jacob Torres, operations superintendent, PCAPP. “We are using ACWA Test Equipment and processing them with our Standard Operating Procedures.”

ACWA Test Equipment has the look, weight and feel of real chemical rounds, but does not contain explosives or chemical agent.

More than 97,000 mortar rounds are in their original packaging and will go through baseline reconfiguration to prepare them for processing by the plant’s automated system. After the mortar round is taken from its shipping box and fiberboard tube, components, including a striker nut, ignitor cartridge, propellant retaining clip and propellant wafers are removed. The mortar round is then placed in the twin spindle removal machine where the pressure plate, pressure plate nut, cartridge container and rotating disc is removed. It is then placed on a projectile pallet and the round is considered reconfigured, Torres said.

“I’m excited to move on to 4.2 rounds. We’ll start off slowly and take our time to make sure we have the process right,” said Paul Gonzales, ordnance technician.

Training is expected to last three weeks and the reconfiguration of actual mortar rounds is scheduled to begin in April.

Related Posts

  • Agent-filled 4.2-inch mortar rounds are monitored during Static Detonation Chamber agent trial testing operations at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

    Static Detonation Chamber Trial Testing Concludes

    Published: May 13, 2022
  • After a chemical weapon is drained of agent and rinsed with high-pressure hot water, Agent Washwater Separator tanks collect fluid before sending it to Agent Neutralization Reactors to destroy the mustard agent. The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant has two tanks, providing the plant with redundancy when neutralizing agent.

    Backup Systems Allow for Safe Repairs

    Published: March 28, 2022
  • All chemical weapons from the Colorado stockpile are sorted into four color-coded lots to reduce delays in destruction due to problematic munitions.

    Color Coding Boosts Chemical Weapon Destruction

    Published: March 23, 2022
  • A Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant ordnance technician holds the first 4.2-inch mortar round to be processed in the Static Detonation Chamber complex.

    First Agent Destroyed in Static Detonation Chamber

    Published: February 22, 2022
  • Static Detonation Chamber ordnance technicians Rachelle S. and Mike W. remove a 57mm conventional ammunition round from its fiber tube during SDC non-agent Trial Burn Testing.

    Conventional Explosives Demonstrate Static Detonation Chamber Capability

    Published: February 15, 2022
  • Munitions transporters unload inert 4.2-inch mortar rounds from the back of a Modified Ammunition Vehicle during Integrated Operations Demonstrations. (Portions of this photograph have been blurred in accordance with Department of Defense guidelines)

    Pueblo Static Detonation Chamber Team Demonstrates Operations

    Published: February 2, 2022
PCAPP Training

Other Recent PCAPP News

  • Static Detonation Chamber Trial Testing Concludes

    Static Detonation Chamber Trial Testing Concludes

    May 13, 2022
  • Colorado Commission Welcomes New Member

    Colorado Commission Welcomes New Member

    May 4, 2022
  • Backup Systems Allow for Safe Repairs

    Backup Systems Allow for Safe Repairs

    March 28, 2022
  • Color Coding Boosts Chemical Weapon Destruction

    Color Coding Boosts Chemical Weapon Destruction

    March 23, 2022
  • Plant Closely Monitors Permit Requirements

    Plant Closely Monitors Permit Requirements

    February 24, 2022

PCAPP Safety Videos

  • PCAPP Safety: Written in the Stars

    PCAPP Safety: Written in the Stars

    June 8, 2015
  • Pueblo Plant Operational Readiness Review

    Pueblo Plant Operational Readiness Review

    February 25, 2014
  • Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Hazard School Board

    Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Hazard School Board

    August 16, 2013
  • PCAPP and the Community Share in National Safety Award

    PCAPP and the Community Share in National Safety Award

    March 31, 2009

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