The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) is safely destroying a chemical weapons stockpile stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot. The Blue Grass chemical weapons stockpile originally consisted of more than 500 tons of weaponized blister and nerve agent in rockets and artillery projectiles. In September 2021, the final projectiles were destroyed, leaving only M55 rockets. The following diagram and information explains how the M55 rockets are being destroyed at BGCAPP.
- Container Handling Building: Pallets of nerve-agent M55 rockets, securely stored and monitored on the Blue Grass Army Depot by the Blue Grass Chemical Activity, are transported in protective devices known as Enhanced On-site Containers (EONC) and are received here for destruction. The building has sufficient storage space to allow processing to continue when conditions are not suitable for transporting munitions.
- Unpack Area 1: Inside this room within the Munitions Demilitarization Building, EONCs are monitored for the presence of chemical agent before opening. Once cleared, the EONCs are opened and the rockets are unloaded. Each rocket is then placed into the Rocket Non-Destructive Examination system, which X-rays the warhead area for evidence of leaks internal to the rocket’s shipping and firing tube (SFT). If a leak is detected, the rocket is overpacked, meaning it is sealed in a larger container, and returned to storage for destruction in the Static Detonation Chamber (SDC) 2000. If the rocket is cleared, operators place it onto a metering table that delivers it into the next step via a conveyor and airlock.
- Explosive Containment Vestibule (ECV): Rockets are placed into the Vertical Rocket Cutting Machine, which makes an initial cut to remove the top portion of the SFT, and a second cut to separate the warhead from the rocket motor (see steps 9 and 10 for disposition of the SFT and motor). A robot places the warhead onto a conveyor, where it moves into the next room.
- Explosive Containment Room: The Punch and Drain Station accesses the warhead cavity and drains the warhead of chemical agent. The liquid agent is sent to the Agent Neutralization System for destruction. The punched and drained stage is the verifiable point of credit for destruction under the Chemical Weapons Convention. The drained warhead is sealed in a protective metal container in the Rocket Warhead Containerization System and transferred by robot to the next step.
- Energetics Batch Hydrolyzer Room: (Note: This room is named for a previous design no longer in use.) A robot labels and loads containerized drained rocket warheads onto a mobile industrial robot for transfer. Another robot then places each container into a metal transport skid, which is delivered to the next room when full.
- Tray Transfer Area: The skids are monitored for the presence of chemical agent. After monitoring, the skid then moves through Unpack Area 2 as it progresses to the final step.
- Temporary Storage: Containerized drained rocket warhead skids are loaded onto trucks for delivery to temporary storage on the depot to await destruction in an SDC unit.
- SDC Units: The skids will be removed from storage and transferred to one of the plant’s two SDC units. Robots will place the containerized drained rocket warheads into this destruction process.
- Motor Packing Room: Motors previously separated from the warheads in the ECV are conveyed to this room and placed in a specialized crate, which protects the motors from static electricity. The crates are monitored for the presence of chemical agent. SFT pieces from the ECV are also packaged and then placed into roll-off containers adjacent to this room. The crates and containers are then sent to the next step.
- Motor Shipping Room: The crates of rocket motors are loaded onto trucks for shipment for final destruction at a licensed and permitted hazardous waste disposal facility. SFT roll-off containers are loaded onto trucks and transported for destruction, also at a licensed and permitted hazardous waste disposal facility.