A start-up team is balancing the Munitions Demilitarization Building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in preparation for chemical-agent destruction operations.
“The facility air system has to be balanced for it to flow properly and filter the plant air effectively,” said Dan Dekock, start-up supervisor, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass. “It’s specifically designed to keep agent vapors contained and filtered, so getting the right balance is critical for safe operations.”
The plant employs a cascading ventilation system to pull air from cleaner areas of the building through more toxic areas and then through six carbon filter banks, before releasing the cleaned air to the atmosphere. The Test Adjusting and Balancing activity will bring the facility to proper pressures and air flows, Dekock said.
“Prior to the balancing, we sealed roof leaks and tested all the rooms with non-toxic smoke,” Dekock said. “Where we saw smoke leaving a room, we sealed that spot and in critical rooms checked and sealed it again. This had to be done to make the balancing activity effective.”
The balancing activity is scheduled to conclude around the end of June. After some additional testing, the next main step for this system is a demonstration to show its readiness for operations.
