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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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Community Talks Closure at Public Meeting

Published: September 24, 2019 | Category: BGCAPP News, Safety
Richmond Mayor Robert Blythe and citizens’ advisory commission and community board members listen to a discussion about community planning for Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant closure at a quarterly public meeting Sept. 11.

Richmond Mayor Robert Blythe and citizens’ advisory commission and community board members listen to a discussion about community planning for Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant closure at a quarterly public meeting Sept. 11.

Community members discussed the need to properly prepare for Blue Grass plant closure at a Sept. 11 public meeting.

The law governing closure after completion of stockpile destruction, projected for December 2023, requires the facilities to be closed in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and mutual agreements between the Secretary of the Army and the governor of the state in which the facility is located.

“This is something that definitely needs to be a top priority for our community as a whole, the cities of Berea and Richmond, even the ten-county region,” said Reagan Taylor, judge-executive, Madison County. “Right now is the perfect time to start educating citizenry so it won’t be a negative impact. We want this program to leave a legacy.”

The community-formed Economic Impact Working Group has been working on this topic for years, with major accomplishments coming in the last year or so, said Craig Williams, co-chair, Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board. The group has connected and partnered with several congressional offices, corporate and governmental community-assistance organizations, federal officials and local government, among others, to work on a post chemical-demilitarization future for Madison County, Kentucky, and the surrounding region.

“As we move through operations and talk about closure, there is a heightened concern about what to do with all of the workers, the infrastructure, the future of the depot, etcetera,” Williams said. “I just wanted to point out the significant impact economically that the transition from the chemical weapons operation will have on the community.”

The group already completed Phase 1 of an economic assessment survey and is currently developing a post-demilitarization economic stability vision/plan, transition analysis, an application for government assistance and business plans to attract organizations to the area. The group is broadening and escalating their engagement at multiple levels to ensure the right people will be involved when the time comes to make decisions, Williams said.

The congressionally mandated deadline to destroy the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile is Dec. 31, 2023. After the chemical weapons stockpile in Kentucky is destroyed, the project will undergo several years of closure in compliance with the environmental permit, which includes decontaminating and dismantling equipment and facilities.

The Blue Grass Army Depot will continue its mission of the safe and secure shipping, receiving, storage, renovation, maintenance and destruction of conventional munitions after the BGCAPP mission is complete.

BGCAPP Technology Articles

  • Workers lower a 30,000-pound buffer tank into the Blue Grass Static Detonation Chamber 1200 building through an opening in the roof. This tank will buffer exhaust gases from the destruction process of the drained nerve-agent rocket warheads before the gases are processed in the off-gas treatment system.

    New Tank Safely Lowered Through Roof

    Published: March 30, 2022
  • Workers pass a piece of plywood up the Static Detonation Chamber 1200 stairs in preparation for opening the roof to allow a new piece of equipment to be lowered into the building. The building passed decontamination verification testing in January, which means workers do not have to wear chemical protective gear as they prepare for the system’s next activity.

    Former Mustard Destruction Facility Passes Crucial Test

    Published: March 1, 2022
  • Demilitarization Protective Ensemble entrants decontaminate equipment in the Munitions Washout System room at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. Since all projectiles have been destroyed, much of this equipment is no longer needed for chemical weapons destruction.

    Decontamination Efforts Begin on Projectile Equipment

    Published: February 8, 2022
  • An operator cuts up the buffer tank from the mustard-processing off-gas treatment system at the Blue Grass Static Detonation Chamber 1200 site Jan. 11. The tank pieces are being disposed of as scrap and a new buffer tank will be installed for the upcoming drained VX rocket warhead destruction campaign.

    Equipment Removed for Site Upgrade

    Published: February 1, 2022
  • Workers guide a stand-by diesel generator as it is lifted by a crane in preparation for placement on its foundation at the Blue Grass Static Detonation Chamber 2000 site Jan. 11. During operations, this generator will provide back-up power in the event of a total power outage.

    From Tents to Today, a Year at the New Site

    Published: January 27, 2022
  • A team of Blue Grass plant operators demonstrate the process for loading a tanker during a visit of local and state officials on Sept. 21.

    State, Local Officials Observe Tanker Loading in Preparation for Hydrolysate Shipment

    Published: October 5, 2021
  • A scientist holds a slice of the propellant portion of a rocket motor, a shaped chemical compound known as the propellant. After being separated from the rocket warheads during the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant destruction process, the motors are crated and stored pending their shipment for disposal as a secondary waste.

    Rocket Motors Stored to Await Destruction

    Published: September 30, 2021
  • A training specialist explains the automated rocket processing equipment installed at the Duncannon Training Center for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell during his visit to the facility Aug. 18.

    Senator McConnell Visits Training Facility

    Published: August 30, 2021
  • Members of two community advisory groups watch as a robot moves a containerized punched and drained VX test rocket warhead during a tour at the Duncannon Training Center for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

    Community Advisory Group Members Tour Training Facility

    Published: August 17, 2021
  • A robot moves a non-contaminated rocket motor separated from its warhead to place it into a shipping crate in the Motor Packing Room at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. The motors, in their shipping and firing tubes, will be packaged and transported to Anniston, Alabama, for disposal in a Static Detonation Chamber unit.

    Rocket Motors Extensively Studied Before Shipment

    Published: July 29, 2021
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Other Recent BGCAPP News

  • Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Monthly Recap – April 2022

    Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Monthly Recap – April 2022

    May 2, 2022
  • Entire U.S. Stockpile of VX Nerve Agent Eliminated

    Entire U.S. Stockpile of VX Nerve Agent Eliminated

    April 20, 2022
  • Teamwork Key to Removing Used Carbon Filters

    Teamwork Key to Removing Used Carbon Filters

    April 19, 2022
  • U.S. Chemical Demilitarization Transparency Event Held for International Organization

    U.S. Chemical Demilitarization Transparency Event Held for International Organization

    March 31, 2022
  • BGCAPP Monthly Recap – March 2022

    BGCAPP Monthly Recap – March 2022

    March 31, 2022

BCGAPP Technology Videos

  • Kentucky Workers Prepare for Next Campaign

    Kentucky Workers Prepare for Next Campaign

    August 12, 2020
  • Robots Take Apart Nerve Agent-filled Rockets

    Robots Take Apart Nerve Agent-filled Rockets

    April 20, 2018
  • Piping Pressure Builds at Blue Grass Plant

    Piping Pressure Builds at Blue Grass Plant

    February 8, 2018
  • Blue Grass Air Filter Banks Prepared for Testing and Operations

    Blue Grass Air Filter Banks Prepared for Testing and Operations

    January 31, 2018
  • What is BGCAPP?

    What is BGCAPP?

    November 17, 2017

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