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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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More Than Half of Pueblo Plant’s 4.2-inch Mortar Rounds Prepped for Destruction

Published: September 30, 2019 | Category: Events, PCAPP News
Ordinance technicians on the baseline reconfiguration team at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant remove a mustard agent-filled 4.2-inch mortar round from its wooden storage box for disassembly and removal of energetic components before it is placed on a covered pallet in preparation for its eventual destruction in a Static Detonation Chamber. The plant has reconfigured more than half the 4.2-inch rounds in the stockpile.

Ordinance technicians on the baseline reconfiguration team at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant remove a mustard agent-filled 4.2-inch mortar round from its wooden storage box for disassembly and removal of energetic components before it is placed on a covered pallet in preparation for its eventual destruction in a Static Detonation Chamber. The plant has reconfigured more than half the 4.2-inch rounds in the stockpile.

The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant has prepared more than half its supply of 4.2-inch mortar rounds for destruction.

PCAPP dayshift area supervisor Chanse Page said the milestone reflects the beginning of the end of baseline reconfiguration for those munitions. “We made the hump at 50% and we are now on the downward slope,” he said.

The plant’s baseline reconfiguration team reached the halfway point with 4.2-inch mortars on Aug. 29, just 16 months after starting the process.

Baseline reconfiguration is the process of taking boxed 4.2-inch mortar rounds from a ready-to-use configuration to a ready-to-process configuration. The mortar and its components are unboxed and removed from a fiberboard tube, and the energetic components are removed. The mortar is placed in a twin spindle removal machine and the pressure plate and nut, cartridge container and rotating disc are removed. It is then placed on a pallet and overpacked, or covered; the round is then considered baseline reconfigured and ready for demilitarization operations.

Page said he estimates the teams can reconfigure an average 268 rounds per day.

“I have a very dedicated crew,” he said. “They make my job easy because they are always problem solving and looking for ways to improve our processes.”

The main plant uses an automated process to disassemble 155mm projectiles and drain and treat the chemical agent inside. Because the 4.2-inch rounds have been found to be unsuited to that process, the reconfigured mortars will be destroyed in Static Detonation Chambers currently planned to augment the plant. The 4.2-inch mortar round destruction campaign in three SDCs will run concurrent with either the 155mm projectiles now being processed or 105mm projectiles in a later campaign of the main facility. All the munitions stockpiled at the U.S. Army’s Pueblo Chemical Depot contain mustard agent.

PCAPP Event Articles

  • Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant workers celebrate the destruction of 50% of the mustard agent in the Colorado chemical weapons stockpile on Feb. 26. An April 4 public celebration to mark the milestone has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Pueblo Event Marking Mustard Agent Milestone Canceled

    Published: March 17, 2020
  • An ordnance technician at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant reconfigures a 4.2-inch mortar round from its ready-to-use state to one ready for processing and destruction.

    Destruction Campaign Progresses at Pueblo Plant

    Published: November 15, 2019
  • Static Detonation Chamber components are placed on their concrete pad at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in Colorado. Three SDC units will be assembled to aid the main plant in its mission to destroy the chemical weapons stockpile at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot.

    Pueblo Plant Begins Static Detonation Chamber Assembly

    Published: November 12, 2019
  • The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant is pursuing a final Part B Hazardous Waste Operating Permit, which will govern the processing of the remaining chemical munitions stockpile.

    Pueblo Plant Pursues Final Operating Permit for Main Process

    Published: November 8, 2019
  • Pleasant View Middle School students, along with teacher Todd Seip, watch training specialist Kent Ladd point out the parts and contents of a chemical weapon during a Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Training Facility tour.

    Chemical Demilitarization in the Classroom

    Published: October 30, 2019
  • A worker at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant places 105mm projectiles that have been unboxed and reconfigured for processing on a pallet using a motorized lift assist.

    Pueblo Plant Destroys More Than 1,000 U.S. Tons of Chemical Warfare Agent

    Published: October 2, 2019
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