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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: Destroy Chemical Weapons Stockpile

      Vision: Chemical Weapons Free by 2023

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Testing Simulated Warheads Assists Destruction Efforts

Published: August 31, 2020 | Category: BGCAPP News, Safety, Technology
Testing Simulated Warheads Assists Destruction Efforts

Left: Fuzes sit on a table at the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama. The fuzes were removed from M56 rocket warheads for testing in the Anniston Static Detonation Chamber (SDC) unit. The test results will help determine rocket process times and expectations for the two SDC units at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. Right: The scrap from processing test rocket warheads in the Anniston SDC lies in boxes at the Anniston Army Depot. Technicians processed simulated rocket warheads in the Anniston SDC to determine rocket process times and expectations for the two SDC units at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

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.

“The testing went very well,” said Tim Garrett, director of field operations, Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives. “Processing times and the scrap from the operation were very consistent. The testing confirms the process is very effective and safe.”

The testing was conducted to show the warheads that are safely punched and drained and then sealed into a protective canister can be effectively processed in an SDC unit, Garrett said.

Experts from the Redstone Test Center in Huntsville, Alabama, configured 30 simulated warheads for the tests in the Anniston Army Depot SDC unit by adding a simulated agent heel, a burster and a fuze to each punched test warhead body, Garrett said. High-performance brake fluid was used to simulate the agent heel, as it has very similar thermal properties such as vapor pressure and flash points as VX agent. The same explosive used in M55 rockets was used for the burster. The test warheads were placed in the same kind of containers that will be used for the real warheads, sealed and processed in the chamber.

“We’re simulating as closely as possible a drained M56 rocket warhead that will go through the Blue Grass process,” Garrett said. “We have duplicated the identical explosive train of the rockets in storage at the Blue Grass Army Depot to analyze how the detonation chamber will handle the load.”

In Kentucky, Rocket Warhead Containerization System equipment is being installed at an off-site training center and will be used to train workers in the containerization process.

Development of the SDC 2000 site continues. The SDC unit of the Explosive Destruction Technology system is currently processing mustard munitions and the off-gas treatment system will be upgraded to process nerve agent when the mustard campaign is complete.

More BGCAPP Environment Articles

  • Technicians program a Rocket Warhead Containerization System robot inside the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in February. This equipment is the subject of one of four Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection permit modification requests currently in a public comment period.

    Public Involvement Opportunities for Permit Modification Requests

    Published: April 5, 2021
  • Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modification Requests

    Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modification Requests

    Published: January 28, 2021
  • First-Time Filter Change Activity

    First-Time Filter Change Activity

    Published: December 29, 2020
  • Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modification

    Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modification

    Published: October 13, 2020
  • Blue Grass plant munitions handlers unpack filters in anticipation of the Explosive Destruction Technology Service Magazine filter changeout at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant

    Workers Complete Filter Change

    Published: August 20, 2020
  • Site preparation continues at the Blue Grass Static Detonation Chamber (SDC) 2000 at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

    Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modifications

    Published: July 16, 2020
  • A waste operator practices moving waste drums on pallets at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Container Storage Facility. The plant’s hazardous waste is regulated by a standard hazardous waste permit through the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection.

    Permit Conversion Public Comment Period Open Through Dec. 11

    Published: December 5, 2019
  • A technician watches as a tray of test projectile bodies moves through the Metal Parts Treater (MPT) for a conveyor alignment check at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. The MPT Surrogate Test Plan was the subject of a recent Class 1 modification to the plant’s hazardous waste permit.

    Minor Permit Modifications Routine Business for Plant

    Published: August 20, 2019
  • Col. Joseph Kurz, commander, Blue Grass Army Depot, discusses Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant processes with Ron Hink, project manager, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass. The commander signed his acceptance of a Finding of No Significant Impact generated from a May 2019 environmental assessment for augmentation of plant processing capability July 1.

    Signature Signals Path Forward for Additional Equipment

    Published: July 25, 2019
  • Madison County, Kentucky, residents listen to a presentation about the environmental assessment for the proposed action for processing nerve agent-filled munitions at the Blue Grass Army Depot at a May 21 public meeting. The public comment period for this action ends June 17.

    Environmental Assessment Public Comment Period Open Through June 17

    Published: May 31, 2019
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Related News

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