PCAPP Monthly Recap - April 2020 - Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)

PCAPP Monthly Recap – April 2020

Published: May 5, 2020 | Category: Monthly Recap, PCAPP News

Local project employment: 1,633. Local payroll paid to date: $1.97 billion. Quantity destroyed: 1,432.0 U.S. Tons.

Highlights

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pueblo Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office staff are working remotely until further notice but will continue to keep the public informed via the usual online platforms.
PCAPP continues to destroy chemical weapons, with many employees at both the plant and depot working from home. Department of Defense guidance regarding face coverings has been adopted in addition to social distancing and teleworking measures, and one entrance has been closed to traffic to reduce exposure risks for guards. Training continues and new hires are joining the PCAPP workforce with appropriate precautions. There have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the workforce.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, measurable progress is being made at the Static Detonation Chamber (SDC) sites. The SDC is an active construction and work site even as PCAPP observes work-from-home guidelines. SDC equipment and off-gas treatment systems are set for all three units, with Sprung structure coverings greater than 90% complete. Piping installation for gas, water and air is nearing completion at all three sites, with electrical work progressing or planned for all units. HVAC ductwork installation is nearly three-quarters of the way complete at all the sites, with fire protection and detection installation underway as well. Communication with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment continues to advance SDC permit applications. The three SDCs will augment the main plant by destroying 4.2-inch mortar rounds and any projectiles not suitable for the automated processing in the main plant.
The Colorado Chemical Demilitarization Citizens’ Advisory Commission held a virtual public meeting April 27. PCAPP managers detailed COVID-19 community support and pandemic planning efforts and precautions as chemical demilitarization operations continue. Walton Levi, site project manager, PCAPP, told the panel more than 55% of the mustard agent stockpile had been eliminated, and 45 tanker loads of hydrolysate – a wastewater product of mustard agent destruction – had been shipped off site under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for reducing on-site waste storage during the pandemic.
The Bechtel Pueblo Team secured 1,000 N95 face masks from Bechtel National, donating 500 to Pueblo’s Parkview Medical Center and 500 to St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center.
As of April 30, 244,918 155mm projectiles have been processed in the main plant.
Baseline reconfiguration of 4.2-inch boxed mortar rounds from boxed storage to pallets ready for processing continued. As of April 30, 85,831 4.2-inch mortar rounds have been reconfigured.

Upcoming Meetings

Colorado Chemical Demilitarization Citizens’ Advisory Commission, Permitting Working Group and Biotreatment Utilization Group Meeting (Tentative)
May 27, 2020, at 2 p.m. MDT
Google Hangouts Meet

New to PCAPP?

The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant is a state-of-the-art facility built to destroy the chemical weapons stockpile stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado. The main plant uses neutralization followed by biotreatment to destroy the mustard agent stockpile. The safety of the workforce and neighboring communities is the project’s most important priority.