Technicians brought the Explosive Destruction Technology air filtration system online for the first time May 8 at the Blue Grass plant.

“After some initial motor starts the day before, we started it for the first full run on the eighth,” said Kevin Cooper, mechanical engineer, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass. “We made some adjustments and will continue testing and tuning the system.”

The system contains two banks of 48 carbon filter trays each, with additional pre- and high-efficiency particulate arrestance, or HEPA, filters. The system will provide room filtration and process ventilation to the Static Detonation Chamber room, Cooper said. Additionally, it will provide a negative pressure to the room, which means if there is an unlikely release of chemical agent from the destruction process, it will be pulled through the filter system and not released to the outside atmosphere.

“It’s essential to the safe operation of the facility,” Cooper said. “It’s a strong last line of defense to protect the workforce and the public.”

Technicians will continue to run the system, verifying it operates as specified in its design documentation, and develop written operating procedures. The next step will be system and integration testing, which is scheduled for later this year.