The former chemical weapons destruction site in Anniston, Alabama, is assisting the Blue Grass destruction effort by destroying non-contaminated rocket motors in a Static Detonation Chamber, or SDC, unit.

The Blue Grass team destroyed 50% of the chemical agent originally stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot as of Sept. 9.

The chemical weapons destruction facility in Richmond, Kentucky, is hosting a job fair Sept. 13 and 15.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in August 2022.

The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, or KDEP, is reviewing a Class 2 permit modification request related to a GB nerve agent M55 rocket processing change at the Blue Grass plant.

The Blue Grass Army Depot and Blue Grass Chemical Activity conducted change-of-command ceremonies in July and June, respectively.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in July 2022.

A senior U.S. Army official spoke positively about the Blue Grass plant during his visit June 29.

The first M55 rocket containing GB nerve agent was destroyed at the Blue Grass plant July 6.

The Blue Grass team is applying lessons learned during VX nerve agent M55 rocket destruction operations to optimize processing during the upcoming GB nerve agent M55 rocket destruction campaign.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in June 2022.

Government officials, project personnel and citizens gathered in Richmond, Kentucky, to recognize the elimination of all VX nerve agent weapons in the U.S. stockpile June 8.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in May 2022.

With the completion of VX nerve-agent M55 rocket destruction April 19, the Blue Grass plant has shifted into a three-month changeover period to prepare the facility for GB rocket destruction.

The Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA) will hold a public event recognizing the destruction of all VX nerve agent weapons in the U.S. stockpile on Wednesday, June 8, at 1 p.m.

State officials approved two major hazardous waste permit modifications April 15 for the operation of the Blue Grass Static Detonation Chamber, or SDC, units.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in April 2022.

The last M55 rocket containing VX nerve agent was destroyed at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, or BGCAPP, April 19.

A multi-disciplinary team safely removed used carbon filters from the air filtration system in the Blue Grass Explosive Destruction Technology facility.

Members of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Executive Council attended a Chemical Demilitarization Transparency Event focused on destruction progress at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant and hosted online by the U.S. March 21-22.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in March 2022.

A team of specialists placed a 30,000-pound buffer tank through a roof opening in the former Blue Grass mustard-agent destruction facility March 14 to ready the building for the next chemical weapons destruction effort.

The facility responsible for destroying all the mustard-agent projectiles at the Blue Grass plant passed a final air-monitoring test to allow workers to safely open the building to install equipment for the next activity.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in February 2022.

The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, or KDEP, has tentatively approved and released for public notice two modifications to the existing hazardous waste permit for the Blue Grass plant.

Blue Grass plant workers are decontaminating and decommissioning equipment associated with the projectile destruction system.

Workers removed a piece of the off-gas treatment system at the former Blue Grass mustard-agent processing facility in January in preparation for installation of new equipment designed for nerve-agent processing.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in January 2022.

Development of the new Static Detonation Chamber 2000 site at the Blue Grass plant is rapidly progressing.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in December 2021.

The Department of Defense official responsible for the Chemical Demilitarization Program visited the Blue Grass plant to learn more about the plant’s operations and capabilities on Dec. 14.

The first boxes of non-contaminated rocket motors were transported via truck from the Blue Grass Army Depot Nov. 1 and safely arrived Nov. 2 at the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama to be destroyed in a Static Detonation Chamber. 

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in November 2021.

Fifty percent of all VX nerve agent in the stockpile of chemical weapons stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot has been destroyed as of Nov. 14.

Now that the mustard munitions campaign is complete, workers are changing the Explosive Destruction Technology into a facility that will process drained nerve agent warheads.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in October 2021.

The first two tanker trucks filled with hydrolysate left the Blue Grass plant Oct. 7 for destruction at an off-site treatment, storage and disposal facility in Texas.

A senior-level Department of Defense official visited the Blue Grass plant to learn more about the plant’s operations and capabilities on Oct. 12.

State and local officials visited the Blue Grass plant to watch a demonstration of the methods and procedures for loading tankers of hydrolysate Sept. 21.

Following a brief pause in processing while local hospitals were at capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Grass plant officials coordinated with additional area hospitals and enhanced coordination with the Blue Grass Chemical Activity and the Madison County Emergency Management Agency/Kentucky Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, or CSEPP, to ensure coverage in the event of an unlikely chemical-agent contamination or industrial accident.

Now that VX rocket destruction has begun, operators are moving non-contaminated rocket motors into temporary storage on the Blue Grass Army Depot prior to their destruction as secondary waste.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in September 2021.

The last 155mm projectiles containing mustard agent were destroyed in the Static Detonation Chamber at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) Sept. 4.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell visited the Duncannon Training Center Aug. 18 for Blue Grass plant and Blue Grass Army Depot briefings and to observe the automated rocket processing equipment in action.

Workers are assembling a new off-gas treatment system to allow the existing Explosive Destruction Technology to safely process drained and containerized VX nerve agent rocket warheads.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in August 2021.

Members of two community advisory groups toured the facility used to train Blue Grass plant workers on automated rocket destruction equipment Aug. 4.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in July 2021.

The rocket motors that will be shipped to Anniston, Alabama, for destruction were thoroughly studied before the decision was made to ship them from the Blue Grass site.

The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, or KDEP, has tentatively approved and released for public notice two permit modification requests related to hydrolysate disposal and rocket motor storage changes at the Blue Grass plant.

The first M55 rockets containing VX nerve agent were destroyed at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) July 9.

Blue Grass managers provided information on the disposal of non-agent-contaminated rocket motors during a public meeting June 9.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in June 2021.

Blue Grass plant automated equipment destroyed a storage bottle containing a small amount of VX nerve agent May 29, following the destruction of the VX 155mm projectiles.

The system used to containerize and package drained rocket warheads at the Blue Grass plant is installed and tested. It was turned over to the operations team May 19.

Blue Grass plant management will provide an update about hydrolysate shipment during an online public meeting June 9.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) team destroyed the last of the 155mm projectiles containing VX nerve agent May 28.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in May 2021.

Program partners performed a mustard-agent sampling operation in May to fulfill Chemical Weapons Convention treaty requirements.

Environmental experts at the Blue Grass Army Depot are working with several conservation organizations to propagate the American chestnut tree.

On April 25, the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant officially reached 25% destruction of the original 523 tons of chemical agent stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in April 2021.

Workers at the Blue Grass plant have been stacking, assembling and placing the various components of the detonation chamber for the Static Detonation Chamber 2000 in April.

The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, or KDEP, has tentatively approved and released for public notice four major permit modification requests related to rocket processing changes at the Blue Grass plant.

Hydrolysate, the product of nerve-agent neutralization at the Blue Grass plant, will be destroyed at an off-site hazardous-waste treatment, storage and disposal facility in Texas, program officials announced March 3.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in March 2021.

To support the Blue Grass VX destruction campaign, technicians converted more than 300 air-monitoring machines to detect VX agent last summer.

Workers placed key equipment at the Blue Grass plant’s Static Detonation Chamber 2000 site Feb. 9 even as the area was gripped by winter weather.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in February 2021.

The March 3 meeting to provide Blue Grass chemical weapons destruction updates to the public will be held online, again.

Blue Grass medical staff and personnel from several other departments recently participated in a drill to test and train response to an emergency in the main plant.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in January 2021.

Two permit modification requests submitted by the Blue Grass Army Depot in support of Blue Grass plant operations are open for public comment until Feb. 15.

Blue Grass Chemical Activity crews kicked off the VX projectile destruction process by preparing several pallets of 155mm projectiles for delivery to the Blue Grass plant in early January.

The first munitions containing VX nerve agent were destroyed at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Jan. 10.

Technicians changed the filters in the IONEX 16K charcoal filter unit for the Blue Grass Explosive Destruction Technology facility for the first time mid-December.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in December 2020.

A team of experts lifted one of the larger deliveries to the Blue Grass site from a trailer and placed it in a laydown area Dec. 11.

Management teams at the Pueblo and Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plants continue to work to reduce risk to the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blue Grass Army Depot workers lent Blue Grass project personnel a hand to help off-load and place shipping containers on the Static Detonation Chamber 2000 site Nov. 10.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in November 2020.

Workers completed the latest step in the construction of the Earth-Covered Magazine for the Blue Grass Static Detonation Chamber 2000 Nov. 6.

A team of specialists is preparing the Blue Grass plant for the destruction of VX nerve-agent filled 155mm projectiles.

Equipment that will cut M55 rockets to separate the warheads from the motors for processing arrived at the Blue Grass plant Nov. 5 and 6.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in October 2020.

A Blue Grass Army Depot permit modification to allow off-site shipment of liquid waste resulting from chemical agent destruction is open for public comment through Dec. 14.

Rocket processing equipment installed in a new off-site training center in September is now being used to train workers.

The public comment period for a Blue Grass permit modification ends Nov. 10.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in September 2020.

The Blue Grass supercritical water oxidation system, originally intended for treatment of a specific plant secondary waste, will no longer be used.

The Sept. 23 meeting to provide Blue Grass chemical weapons destruction updates to the public will be held virtually.

Fifty percent of the mustard agent in the stockpile of chemical weapons stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky has been destroyed as of Sept. 1.

Technical experts in Alabama used fuzes recently removed from rocket warheads to test processing parameters and timing for the Blue Grass Static Detonation Chamber units in mid-August.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in August 2020.

Experts successfully removed fuzes from 30 M56 rocket warheads containing VX chemical agent stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot in late July.

Munitions handlers and a mechanic exchanged air filters for the building that temporarily stores the mustard munitions awaiting destruction in the Static Detonation Chamber Aug. 3.

Technicians are installing new equipment to support changes made to how nerve-agent filled rockets will be processed at the Blue Grass plant.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in June 2020

The first principal deputy at the Blue Grass plant was selected for the position in November.

Public comments on two Blue Grass permit modifications are due by Aug. 24.

Factory acceptance testing of the new Blue Grass rocket processing equipment successfully concluded in early June.

“We’re taking care of the areas of the plant that were contaminated with liquid agent or high-agent vapor, mainly the Munitions Washout System room and the Agent Neutralization System room,” said Carl Reagan, operations support manager, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in June 2020

Technicians are decontaminating and cleaning the Blue Grass facility following the end of the GB 8-inch projectile campaign in May.

“We’re taking care of the areas of the plant that were contaminated with liquid agent or high-agent vapor, mainly the Munitions Washout System room and the Agent Neutralization System room,” said Carl Reagan, operations support manager, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass.

Workers are advancing placement of two structures on the Static Detonation Chamber 2000 site at the Blue Grass plant.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in May 2020

The Kentucky Chemical Demilitarization Citizens’ Advisory Commission and Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board meeting scheduled for June 10 will not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 8-inch GB agent-filled projectiles safely stored and destroyed on the Blue Grass Army Depot originated at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Colorado in the 1960s.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) destroyed all 8-inch projectiles containing GB nerve agent May 11. This marks the completion of the first munitions campaign for the project.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in April 2020

Operators tested the Blue Grass hydrolysate processing system using chemical solutions that simulate real hydrolysate processing during a 30-day shakedown period that ended in early April. This follows a successful system demonstration using water plus isopropyl alcohol in January.

The public has the opportunity to submit comments on new permit modification requests made for the Blue Grass plant until May 18.

A team of Blue Grass plant personnel performed the first sampling of GB nerve agent March 24 to meet treaty requirements.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in March 2020

The first nerve agent was processed through the Blue Grass plant’s Agent Neutralization System March 13.

Workers placed concrete on the new Static Detonation Chamber 2000 site for the first time March 9.

The Blue Grass plant recently achieved two major milestones, one of which is a first for the chemical demilitarization program.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in February 2020

Scientists created special tools, called thermal dosimeters, for testing Metal Parts Treater temperatures in the Blue Grass main plant.

Workers broke ground Jan. 22 for the site of the new Static Detonation Chamber 2000 designed to supplement the main plant’s nerve-agent destruction process.

The Blue Grass main plant is now operating under a standard hazardous waste permit after its status was upgraded in January.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in January 2020

Technicians collected samples and data for a test of the Explosive Destruction Technology emissions system mid-January.

Full-scale chemical agent destruction operations at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) on the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) began Jan. 17 with the destruction of the first 8-inch projectile containing GB nerve agent in the main plant.

The Blue Grass hydrolysate processing system achieved supercriticality for the first time in December during planned system validation.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in November 2019

Operators sent the first shipment of Greater than 1 Vapor Screening Level, or VSL, mustard agent-contaminated waste from the Blue Grass plant to a permitted Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility in Texas this month.

Project and program management provided information about changes being made to the Blue Grass rocket processing system at a public meeting Dec. 11.

The first principal deputy at the Blue Grass plant was selected for the position in November.

Public comments on the conversion of the hazardous waste permit for the Blue Grass main plant are due by Dec. 11, 2019.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in November 2019

Decontaminated projectile bodies processed through the Blue Grass Static Detonation Chamber are considered clean of chemical agent per U.S. Army standards and delivered to a metal recycling facility for further destruction.

Technicians used a mobile air-monitoring trailer for the first time to perform sampling during a demonstration of waste shipment activities Oct. 30.

Blue Grass team members participated in a waste monitoring, packaging and loading dry run Oct. 30.

After discussions between the Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives and Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass, the program decided to move the start of operations for the Blue Grass main plant from late 2019 to early 2020.

Experts are changing the way they will process nerve agent-filled rockets at the Blue Grass plant to bypass part of the system in favor of a simpler, safer technology.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in October 2019

The Blue Grass plant received state approval in early September to begin work for the proposed second Static Detonation Chamber.

Blue Grass plant workers and personnel from Madison and surrounding counties responded to a simulated chemical event at the Blue Grass Army Depot during an annual preparedness exercise Sept. 18.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in September 2019

A multi-disciplinary team keeps their eyes out for potential environmental issues at the Blue Grass plant.

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

This summer, a multi-disciplinary group of experts completed a major assessment required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of any facility with the potential to impact human health and the environment.

Technicians are testing the components of the supercritical water oxidation system, known as SCWO, in preparation for Blue Grass main plant operations.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in August 2019

Blue Grass plant staff distributed a list of minor permit modifications to project stakeholders July 31. The notices are distributed on a quarterly basis.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in July 2019.

Technicians are using the second element in the periodic table to test containers used to overpack leaking chemical munitions at the Blue Grass Chemical Activity on the Blue Grass Army Depot.

The Blue Grass Army Depot commander signed an official document July 1 verifying no significant impact to the environment is anticipated from an action proposed to augment the Blue Grass plant’s processing capability.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in June 2019.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a report in May regarding the Blue Grass plant’s process to treat hydrolysate.

A new Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant site project manager was introduced during the June 12 public meeting of the Kentucky Chemical Demilitarization Citizens’ Advisory Commission and Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board.

Officials confirmed during a June 12 public meeting that successful destruction of the first mustard agent-filled munition occurred June 7 in a facility built to destroy part of the obsolete U.S. chemical weapons stockpile stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in April 2019.

Public comments on the environmental assessment for a proposed action to augment the Blue Grass plant’s processing of nerve agent munitions are due by June 17, 2019.

Hundreds of community members gathered at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Richmond, Kentucky, May 29 to celebrate the impending start of chemical weapons destruction in Kentucky.

The public is invited to an event to recognize the start of chemical weapons stockpile destruction in Kentucky.

The Static Detonation Chamber facility went on lockdown April 5 in preparation for upcoming operations.

Officials from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW, toured the Blue Grass Static Detonation Chamber facility April 1 as part of a final oversight technical review prior to operations.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in April 2019.

A Blue Grass technician was a major contributor to a testing performance study that led to a change in a Department of Defense testing standard.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in March 2019.

Program managers discussed the possibility of an additional Static Detonation Chamber, or SDC, for use at the Blue Grass plant during a public meeting March 13.

The Blue Grass Laboratory is collecting data from eight perimeter monitoring locations on the Blue Grass Army Depot outside the footprint of the Blue Grass plant.

Munitions delivery operators are training to receive chemical munitions from storage at the Blue Grass Chemical Activity and transport them to the Blue Grass plant to support operations.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant is preparing to use non-agent simulant and surrogate chemicals to test equipment and systems that will thermally decontaminate nerve-agent projectiles and other agent-related materials.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in February 2019.

The first of four crews processed explosive rounds in the Static Detonation Chamber at the Blue Grass plant Feb. 15.

Multiple teams working together successfully completed the system demonstration of the Agent Monitoring System in January.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in January 2019.

Workers unloaded a custom vehicle Jan. 18 that will be used to convey containers designed to safely transport chemical munitions within the Blue Grass plant during operations.

Training for workers who will be entering the toxic areas of the Blue Grass plant for maintenance or other duties moved from the Training Center to the plant Jan. 15.

Blue Grass managers are planning a busy 2019 while keeping the primary focus on safety.

Lessons learned from the installation and testing of the Blue Grass Static Detonation Chamber are proving beneficial to Pueblo plant staff as they plan to use the units to augment the Colorado facility.

Systemization, hiring and training were three areas of progress in 2018 highlighted by Blue Grass plant managers during a quarterly public meeting Dec. 12.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in November 2018.

Technicians processed test munitions through the Static Detonation Chamber for the first time in November.

Technicians processed test munitions through the Static Detonation Chamber for the first time in November.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in November 2018.

Analysts are working with munitions-grade hydrolysate to provide more accurate procedures for the testing and processing of the Blue Grass chemical agents.

A team of experts is providing in-depth reviews of Blue Grass systems to help ensure workers, the community and the environment remain safe during plant testing and operations.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in September 2018.

Blue Grass plant government shift representatives, who will provide oversight of the systems contractor from systemization to start-up of the plant, moved to around-the-clock shifts Sept. 30.

Analysts are working with munitions-grade hydrolysate to provide more accurate procedures for the testing and processing of the Blue Grass chemical agents.

Workers are now being fitted for standard protective masks in preparation for upcoming Blue Grass plant operations.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in September 2018.

The system that will destroy the Blue Grass mustard munitions has expanded its schedule to shiftwork as it ramps up to operations.

A potential change will have the Blue Grass plant processing projectiles containing nerve agent, known as GB or sarin, ahead of the planned order that placed M55 rockets first.

Experts at the Blue Grass project are considering using the Static Detonation Chamber facility that will destroy mustard-agent munitions to also complete destruction of problematic nerve-agent munitions.

Blue Grass plant contractor AECOM received the Industry Leader award from the National Safety Council for work performance in 2017.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in August 2018.

Technicians are remotely operating equipment that will process the Kentucky mustard munitions stockpile.

The head of the Blue Grass plant began his 30-year career in chemical weapons demilitarization as an intern at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in July 2018.

The Blue Grass site project manager and community advisory group members discussed at a recent quarterly public meeting the need to have a back-up plan in place in case the plant’s secondary processing system does not work as planned.

Blue Grass plant technicians recently completed several additional system demonstrations, bringing the total number of systems turned over to the operations team to 33 of 59.

The Blue Grass Army Depot and Blue Grass Chemical Activity conducted change-of-command ceremonies in June and July.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in June 2018.

A team of experts safely delivered samples of GB nerve agent to Maryland June 6, after a successful sampling operation at the Blue Grass Army Depot.

The Blue Grass site project manager opened a June 13 quarterly public meeting by introducing program vision and mission statements.

A team of experts is providing in-depth reviews of Blue Grass systems to help ensure workers, the community and the environment remain safe during plant testing and operations.

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in May 2018.

The Blue Grass start-up team is testing the Munitions Washout System with 8-inch inert projectiles in preparation for its systemization demonstration procedure.

A start-up team is balancing the Munitions Demilitarization Building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in preparation for chemical-agent destruction operations.

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

A brief overview of what happened at BGCAPP in April 2018.

Experts deemed two systems that provide water to Blue Grass plant processes ready in March to proceed to the next step toward the destruction of chemical munitions.

A toxic entry supervisor with 25 years of experience assisted with training and procedures that led to the Blue Grass plant’s first Toxic Area Training in November.

Blue Grass team members conducted a safety fair April 11-12 to focus the attention of new hires and project veterans on the unique safety culture required as the organization moves closer to operations that will destroy the chemical weapons stockpile.

As of March 21, the systemization team turned over 21 of 59 Blue Grass plant systems to operations.

Working closely with a community group, Blue Grass plant managers are discussing contingency options for processing hydrolysate, the product of the chemical agent and energetics neutralization process.

Efforts are underway for the Blue Grass Explosive Destruction Technology to begin operations ahead of the main plant, said plant managers at a March 14 public meeting.

Community members working with officials at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant have formed a new group to quickly address topics as the plant progresses toward operations.

Experts successfully completed the Energetics Batch Hydrolyzers systemization demonstration procedure in February.

Industrial hygiene and safety specialists work daily to mitigate health hazards that may exist around the pilot plant.

Technicians are evaluating Metal Parts Treater systems in preparation for a full-system demonstration.

Technicians introduced gaseous nitrogen into the Blue Grass plant for the first time Jan. 25.

Plant and Blue Grass Army Depot participants responded to a mock hydrolysate spill in the Blue Grass Laboratory to practice hazardous-materials clean-up skills Jan. 31.

Technicians are testing pre-filter banks at the Blue Grass plant to ensure proper filtration and air flow.

The Blue Grass start-up team successfully completed a major test of the Energetics Neutralization System Jan. 12.

A toxic entry supervisor with 25 years of experience assisted with training and procedures that led to the Blue Grass plant’s first Toxic Area Training in November.

Machines used to seal chemical demilitarization workers into their protective suits were tested and turned over to operations this month.

Kentucky’s environmental agency has tentatively approved two permit modifications involving the Blue Grass plant, opening a period for public comment Dec. 15.

Workers who will enter contaminated areas of the Blue Grass plant during operations are now training in suits designed specifically to protect them from exposure to chemical agent.

Blue Grass plant managers looked back at 2017 accomplishments and focused on future goals during a quarterly public meeting Dec. 13.

Blue Grass plant personnel participated in the first training class to prepare them to enter contaminated areas of the plant during operations.

Technicians began testing the Blue Grass plant’s Rocket Cutting Machines and their related systems with dummy rockets in November.

State inspectors observed that munitions transport containers contained only related support equipment at the Blue Grass site Nov. 7.

Workers who will have access to chemical agent and related materials at the Blue Grass plant are thoroughly checked out through a U.S. Army trustworthiness program.

The Blue Grass plant submitted a permit modification request to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency seeking a storage and treatment permit regarding organic air emissions for the facility.

Blue Grass Explosive Destruction Technology personnel have re-started facility work after supplemental funding was received and allocated.

A new assistant project manager recently joined the Blue Grass team, and he brings more than 15 years of experience in chemical demilitarization.

Blue Grass teams recently developed a material-handling system designed to assist technicians with a repetitive, heavy-lifting task.

Multiple organizations and counties participated in an annual exercise Sept. 20 designed to enhance emergency preparedness in the unlikely event of a chemical accident or incident at the Blue Grass Army Depot.

Testing of equipment and procedures at the Blue Grass plant has led to an array of enhancements and permitting updates discussed during a public meeting Sept. 13 in Richmond, Kentucky.

The Blue Grass neutralization team finished the systemization demonstration procedure for the Agent Neutralization System Aug. 30.

The leader of the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program met with Kentucky community members in Richmond, Kentucky during a quarterly public meeting Sept. 13.

The Blue Grass heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, start-up team completed systemization demonstration procedure testing for the Control and Support Building’s air-handling system in August.

After a systemization demonstration procedure, the Blue Grass systemization team turned over the Tray Handling System to operations Aug. 1.

Technicians will use a purpose-built drilling device to access the cavity in 8-inch M426 projectiles to collect samples of GB agent to meet Blue Grass Laboratory needs.

Blue Grass environmental representatives hosted a public meeting July 19 to support a permit modification request to the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection.

The new head of the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) program visited the Blue Grass project the first week of August.

An engineering team has designed a glovebox to monitor M55 rockets, which have motors slated for disposal outside the Blue Grass plant.

Blue Grass plant medical staff collaborated with the Blue Grass Army Depot Fire Department in June for high-angle rescue training.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will host a public availability session to discuss the issuance of a draft Toxic Substances Control Act approval for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant at 6 p.m., July 20, at the Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office.

The Blue Grass plant submitted a permit modification request to the state environmental agency June 20 to sample 8-inch projectiles containing GB nerve agent.

Blue Grass monitoring and systemization personnel are checking filter-bank monitoring equipment to ensure chemical-agent vapors would be detected and prevented from being released into the atmosphere when the plant is in operations.

The Blue Grass plant’s government lead outlined the focus of systemization and testing activities to be accelerated with the receipt of additional funding during a quarterly public meeting June 14.

Blue Grass plant scientists are testing chemicals to be used on site to make sure they don’t interfere with chemical agent monitoring.

Property administrators hosted the first public auction of materials no longer needed by the Blue Grass plant in June to help return money to the project’s contract.

Blue Grass systemization team members turned the system that will collect liquid chemical agent drained from munitions and store it before neutralization over to the operations team in May.

Blue Grass plant leadership updated researchers from a national advisory institution on project progress in May.

Workers suited up to perform the first drill involving simulated leaked caustic at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in April.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant utility technicians received a portable water demineralizer May 9 to provide clean plant process water for systemization activities.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant personnel, led by the operations department, began developing a plan required by regulators before pilot testing can occur.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant leaders and program partners welcomed the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Executive Council to Kentucky April 3-4.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Explosive Destruction Technology facility received system and site safety plan approvals in April.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) technicians brought another piece of processing equipment online in March as they began testing the Rocket Shear Machine (RSM).

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) technicians tested the rotation of all three of the Energetics Batch Hydrolyzer (EBH) drums for the first time March 8.

As part of the systemization phase, technicians are testing and calibrating instruments to prepare the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) for destruction operations.

The head of the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) program addressed local community members at a quarterly public meeting in Richmond, Kentucky, for the last time prior to his retirement.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant leaders discussed a revised project schedule as part of a progress update to stakeholders in a March 8 quarterly public meeting.

Employees from the Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives headquarters and Pueblo plant gathered in Kentucky Feb. 28 to share information with Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant government staff.

Technicians are testing the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant’s (BGCAPP) fire detection and prevention systems to prepare for plant operations.

Security and Acquisition Services teams worked together in December 2016 and January 2017 to reduce Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) expenses by more than $14,000 through repurposing unused materials.

Two Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) paramedics received personal recognition from an Army general officer Feb. 13 for their actions in responding to a medical emergency on the BGCAPP site in November 2016.

The Blue Grass Army Depot, site of the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, conducts a variety of missions now, and officials say that will continue after the destruction of chemical weapons is complete, nearly a decade from now.

Members of a U.S. Army assessment team visited Kentucky Jan. 25 to evaluate environmental compliance status at the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD).

Systemization team members are pressure-testing piping systems at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in preparation for operations.

Munitions handlers started training with inert projectiles in the Blue Grass Explosive Destruction Technology (EDT) Service Magazine in September to support upcoming operations.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) leaders provided updates on 2016 progress during a quarterly public meeting Dec. 14.

Paramedics now provide emergency response to employees on the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) employees donated wish-list items in November and December to Soldiers’ Angels, a non-profit organization that benefits deployed troops and veterans.

A Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant employee received top honors through the 2016 Defense Acquisition Workforce Achievement Awards program.

Technicians at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant began the light-off process for part of the pollution abatement system Nov. 1.

Vendors from central Kentucky and across the country attended a Nov. 16 forum in Richmond hosted by Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass.

Firefighters participated in high-angle rescue training by rappelling from the top of storage tanks at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in October.

Technicians at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant began the light-off process for part of the pollution abatement system Nov. 1.

Technicians are practicing extinguishing fires using an electronic simulator, as part of the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant’s ongoing commitment to safety.

Safety personnel are conducting inspections of a fall-protection system designed to keep workers safe at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP).

Munitions handlers started training with inert projectiles in the Blue Grass Explosive Destruction Technology (EDT) Service Magazine in September to support upcoming operations.

Leaders from the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant reported the facility built to destroy chemical weapons in Kentucky is more than halfway finished with its testing phase, known as systemization.

Several hundred people across ten Kentucky counties will take part in an emergency preparedness exercise related to chemical weapons storage and destruction Sept. 21.

Technicians started preparing to support Explosive Destruction Technology operations by training with specialized protective suits and gear Sept. 12 at the off-site training center’s simulated toxic area.

A new fire station constructed on the Blue Grass Army depot is complete and ready for occupancy.

In August, technicians received samples of hydrolysate, the byproduct created during the chemical munitions destruction process, which were prepared under controlled conditions for use in the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Lab.

The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 issued three draft permits related to the Explosive Destruction Technology facility at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Aug. 7.

Team members began site work for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant’s Waste Transfer Station in July.

Workers at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, or BGCAPP, have completed the first building on the Explosive Destruction Technology (EDT) project.

A new human resources manager joined the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant team in June.

As part of standard procedure, the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant requested a renewal of the plant’s Title V air permit from the Kentucky Division for Air Quality.

Systemization team members are testing Standby Diesel Generators at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, in order to provide adequate power to the site in an emergency.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant maintenance personnel are refurbishing protective devices that will be used to transport chemical munitions from their secure storage to the plant.

The Blue Grass Army Depot and Blue Grass Chemical Activity conducted change-of-command ceremonies in June.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant leaders discussed project schedule and disposal of non-contaminated rocket motors during a quarterly public meeting at Eastern Kentucky University June 8.

Blue Grass Chemical Activity personnel began training with dummy munitions in May to get ready for Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Explosive Destruction Technology operations.

Workers completed the last of four quarterly sampling activities in April to determine a baseline to protect the freshwater aquifer that flows underneath the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

A report examining the effects of removing a step when processing munitions at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant was released May 25 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

With almost $4 million in excess property distributed so far, the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant moved its property disbursement program from the project site to the Richmond Mall in April to facilitate the program’s efficiency.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant project is now occupying an additional 12,000 square feet of office space in the Richmond Mall in Richmond, Kentucky.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant’s Medical Facility opened its doors for full project support April 11.

Three modules for the Explosive Destruction Technology Outside Operations Support Facility, or O2SF, arrived at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant April 9.

Workers completed installation of an air-monitoring system in March which places monitors between the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant and the Blue Grass Army Depot installation boundary.

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin signed into law a bill requesting a change to the way Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) process waste will be designated under the state’s waste codes April 6.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant leaders met with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell March 23 at Eastern Kentucky University to provide an update on chemical weapons destruction.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) systemization team is testing the plant’s compressed air system, which will perform three main functions while the plant is in operations.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant recently changed start-up team management to allow the plant’s start-up manager to more closely focus on top-level systemization oversight.

Community members learned about Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant systemization efforts and Explosive Destruction Technology facility progress as part of a quarterly public meeting March 9.

Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass, the joint-venture company responsible for the design, construction, systemization, operation and closure of the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, partnered with Eastern Kentucky University for a student job fair March 2.

For more than 30 years, one Commonwealth of Kentucky employee has ensured prairie remnants – grasslands of native Kentucky species – flourish on the Blue Grass Army Depot.

A new ambulance purpose-built for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant arrived Feb. 1.

Members of the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant start-up team are performing pre-commissioning and commissioning activities on equipment in preparation for operations.

Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment Katherine Hammack visited the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Jan. 13 to learn more about progress toward chemical weapons destruction in Kentucky.

The Madison County Emergency Management Agency has a new director who is continuing the county’s partnership with the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, the Blue Grass Chemical Activity and the Blue Grass Army Depot.

The Blue Grass Chemical-Agent Destruction Pilot Plant site project manager expects 2016 to be a year of important milestones at the main plant and Explosive Destruction Technology site.

Workers installed the first structural steel for the Explosive Destruction Technology Enclosure Building at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Dec. 29.

Members of the Kentucky Chemical Demilitarization Citizens’ Advisory Commission and Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board looked back at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant’s 2015 accomplishments during a quarterly meeting Dec. 9.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant has continued its focus on sustainability by recycling materials valued at almost $100,000 so far in 2015, benefiting U.S. Army Soldiers’ morale, welfare and recreation through a multi-agency program.

A truckload of simulated chemical weapons, specifically inert M55 rockets, arrived at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Dec. 8.

The Blue Grass Explosive Destruction Technology (EDT) site is now recognizable following the placement of structure foundations and construction of the shell of the EDT Service Magazine.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant submitted a request Nov. 12, 2015, to the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection for a revision to the project’s Research, Development and Demonstration permit.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant scientists briefed Secondary Waste Working Group community stakeholders Nov. 10 about supercritical water oxidation activities and their progress on a recent study from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant team requested a permit modification from Kentucky regulators Nov. 2 to sample and verify mustard agent as part of an international pledge to destroy chemical weapons.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant team welcomed Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass project manager Ron Hink Nov. 2. He replaces Doug Omichinski, who was appointed Bechtel’s corporate manager of construction in Houston, Texas.

The United States is one step closer to destroying weaponized nerve and mustard agent stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot, near Richmond, Kentucky, after completing construction of the 19-acre Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant facility in October 2015.

Construction is ramping up on the Explosive Destruction Technology site, which will augment the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant by destroying the mustard agent stockpile stored at the depot.

Blue Grass plant property managers are transferring equipment that is no longer needed on the project to other government agencies.

A Blue Grass engineer found a way to share her passion for art and science during a visit to a local school and said she’s now a convert to education outreach.

Chuck Mecham gets to lift people up, take them down, be confined with them in tight spaces and run them in zig-zags, all in the name of chemical weapons destruction.

Blue Grass plant personnel are enhancing auxiliary systems to the Energetics Neutralization Reactors to decrease formation of hydrogen cyanide and keep the workforce safe.

Even as summer winds down, many kids are more focused on finding the nearest pool than planning their future career paths. However, Blue Grass plant engineers are making a big splash in the classroom as they show students that science and engineering occupations are cool.

Keeping Kentucky’s air, water and land clean is extremely important to Blue Grass plant personnel. To that end, the project partners with the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection to ensure the project meets or exceeds all of the commonwealth’s environmental regulations.

The Factory Acceptance Testing of the Static Detonation Chamber (SDC) is the focus of this month’s project update. The SDC has been selected to destroy the mustard munitions of the Blue Grass stockpile. Site preparation and construction is ongoing, while the fabrication and testing of the actual unit is being conducted overseas.

July 10, 1926, was a very bad time for northern New Jersey. That was the day a bolt of lightning set off more than 600,000 tons of explosives stored at the Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition Storage Depot on the Picatinny Arsenal. The resulting massive explosion killed almost two dozen people, injured more than 50, completely destroyed 200 buildings and cost almost $650 million in today’s dollars.

The safety and security of the United States’ chemical weapons stockpile is of utmost concern to people the world over, even during its disposal. To this end, the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant rigorously supports the United States’ compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.

This month’s project update looks at the Personnel Maintenance Building currently under construction at the Blue Grass plant.

Dr. Doug Hindman feels he has a duty to his community. “I have been a social activist almost all of my life,” said Hindman. “It has always been my way to give people a voice to try to make things better for the community. I took great interest when I heard it was planned for chemical weapons to be destroyed right here in Madison County.”

Just as the appearance of the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant has changed over the last few years, so has the makeup of the project’s workforce.

In the spotlight this month is the Medical Facility, currently under construction at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

What’s important to James Duncan is simple: keeping people safe. As the safety specialist for the Explosive Destruction Technology project, which will destroy the mustard-agent munitions in the Blue Grass stockpile, Duncan is in the position to do just that.

This question is often asked by environmentally concerned neighbors, land owners and other project stakeholders when they consider the neutralization processes that will be used by the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

This month’s project update focuses on the plenums currently under construction in the Munitions Demilitarization Building at the Blue Grass plant.

Equipment turnover to the systemization team is, one might say, a mechanical process for one Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant mechanical field engineer.

What do the Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, the Blue Grass Army Depot and the Blue Grass Chemical Activity all have in common? They all are essential Blue Grass project partners and provide many resources for the safe destruction of the chemical munitions stored at the depot near Richmond, Kentucky.

This month’s project update focuses on the Container Handling Building (CHB) currently under construction at the Blue Grass plant. Once the plant is operational, the CHB will provide a safe and secure storage area as the chemical munitions’ first stop at the plant.

The Blue Grass project has a very well-trained and skilled emergency response team, ready to respond to just about any kind of accident or incident one can imagine on a large, industrial construction site. But back-up is always available when requested.

For small businesses and local vendors to successfully support the Blue Grass chemical weapons destruction project, the key is communication.

Installation of communications equipment is this month’s focus on progress at the Blue Grass construction site. Consisting of telecommunications equipment and a public address system, this effort will allow for one- and two-way communications in and around the pilot plant.

How does one follow such a busy year as the Blue Grass project had in 2014? With an even more focused one in 2015! As construction is nearing completion, systemization is ramping up.

This year, as project focus shifts from construction to systemization, this monthly progress article will highlight pertinent project updates.

“By far, this is the safest job site I have ever been on,” said electrician Bobby Dehart. Dehart said that the reason he feels so comfortable on this industrial construction project is because of the Blue Grass plant’s safety culture that led to the project’s recertification under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program.