Safety efforts appear in many different forms, and colors, at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

“Bright green static dissipating heel grounds prevent the wafer charges in mortar rounds from sparking or igniting, providing added safety against static electricity during the process of baseline reconfiguration,” said Jake Torres, operations superintendent, PCAPP.

Ordnance technicians wear the high visibility heel grounds over rubber boots to dissipate static buildup as they reconfigure 4.2-inch mortar rounds, Torres said.

These antistatic heel grounds, with grounding cords, run into the wearer’s socks to make contact with the skin. Foot grounders located on cords quickly and effectively drain the static charges that collect on technicians during normal plant activities, said Torres.

During Baseline Reconfiguration, ordnance technicians remove mortar rounds from wooden boxes and their fiber board tubes, and place the rounds on conveyors for further dismantling, including the removal of propellant wafers from the rear assembly. They are then placed on pallets for destruction at a later date.

As of Sept. 17, a total of 9,753 4.2-inch mortar rounds have been reconfigured.