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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)

      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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Carbon Filter Replacements Keep Pueblo Plant Emissions Safe

Published: September 10, 2019 | Category: PCAPP News, Safety
Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant workers unload new carbon filters for an Agent Filtration Area filter unit. The filters capture and remove organic contaminants, including mustard agent vapors, from the air in the two main processing buildings.

Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant workers unload new carbon filters for an Agent Filtration Area filter unit. The filters capture and remove organic contaminants, including mustard agent vapors, from the air in the two main processing buildings.

Mustard agent is the only chemical agent in the Colorado chemical weapons stockpile at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, but it’s not the only concern the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant has when it comes to protecting the air.

“Other chemicals formed by the neutralization of chemical agent require an advanced system of filters to screen the air that flows out of the demilitarization plant,” said Brian Ramdwar, deputy plant manager, Bechtel Pueblo Team.

The Pueblo plant’s Agent Filtration Area includes 10 filter units, with eight units running in parallel. These units each contain nine banks of particulate pre-filters, carbon filters and high-efficiency particulate air, or HEPA, filters. Air is released back into the atmosphere only after going through the nine filter banks to remove contaminants. A continuously monitored exhaust stack sees 80 to 100 times the airflow of a typical home’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.

The AFA collects the air from the Enhanced Reconfiguration Building, where the projectiles are dismantled, and the Agent Processing Building, where the drained mustard agent is chemically neutralized before it goes through a biotreatment process.

Filter beds in the AFA are monitored closely for various chemical levels, and the filters are changed when those levels begin to rise toward limits set by government health agencies. Technicians at the plant have been changing out carbon filters in these units under an agreement with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment that ensures increased public and environmental protection.

“Only a few banks of filters are replaced at a time, meaning the plant does not need to shut down during the change-out,” Ramdwar said.

Related Posts

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    Static Detonation Chamber Trial Testing Concludes

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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    Published: February 2, 2022
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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

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    March 28, 2022
  • Color Coding Boosts Chemical Weapon Destruction

    Color Coding Boosts Chemical Weapon Destruction

    March 23, 2022
  • Plant Closely Monitors Permit Requirements

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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)