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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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      Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP)

      BGCAPP is safely destroying the chemical weapons stockpile currently in storage at the Blue Grass Army Depot near Richmond, Kentucky.

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      Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP)

      PCAPP is safely destroying the chemical weapons stockpile currently in storage at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado.

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Facts: Nerve Agent Neutralization

Published: October 17, 2022 | Category: BGCAPP Facts
An Agent Neutralization Reactor stands in the Munitions Demilitarization Building at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. Nerve agent drained from rockets and projectiles is pumped to this reactor and mixed with hot water and sodium hydroxide to neutralize the agent. The resulting product is known as hydrolysate.

An Agent Neutralization Reactor stands in the Munitions Demilitarization Building at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. Nerve agent drained from rockets and projectiles is pumped to this reactor and mixed with hot water and sodium hydroxide to neutralize the agent. The resulting product is known as hydrolysate.

Neutralization was the technology selected to destroy the stockpile of nerve agent (GB or “Sarin” and VX) contained in rockets and projectiles at the Blue Grass Army Depot. As of April 2022, all projectiles and rockets containing VX nerve agent have been destroyed at the depot. The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant is actively destroying GB nerve agent contained in M55 rockets.

How Neutralization Works

During the neutralization process, the munitions are taken apart and the nerve agent drained and separated from the weapons’ explosive components (energetics). The nerve agent is mixed vigorously with hot water and sodium hydroxide to destroy, or neutralize, it. The resulting product, known as hydrolysate, is held and tested to ensure chemical agent destruction. After testing confirms the destruction of the nerve agent, the hydrolysate is shipped to a permitted hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility for further processing in accordance with environmental permitting.

Gases are filtered through a series of High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) and carbon filters before being released into the atmosphere.

During the projectile campaigns, metal parts from munitions were heated to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit for thermal decontamination for a minimum of 15 minutes. The metal parts were safely recycled.

During the rocket campaigns, the drained warheads are containerized and sent for temporary storage on the Blue Grass Army Depot to await further destruction in a Static Detonation Chamber unit, which uses thermal destruction technology to process the weapons. The rocket motors are packaged, temporarily stored and are sent to Anniston, Alabama, to be destroyed in a Static Detonation Chamber.

Learn more about neutralization by watching these videos:

  • Nerve Agent Destruction in the United States
  • This System Will Drain Chemical Agent
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BGCAPP SCWO

BGCAPP Facts

  • Facts: Acronyms Commonly Used in the Chemical Weapons Destruction Program

  • Facts: Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass

  • Facts: Blue Grass ACWA Test Equipment

  • Facts: Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office

  • Facts: Blue Grass Rocket Destruction Process

  • Facts: Chemical Munitions at Blue Grass

  • Facts: Chemical Weapons Destruction at Blue Grass

  • Facts: Connect with the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant

  • Facts: Employment and Business Opportunities

  • Facts: Environmental Permitting: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

  • Facts: Hydrolysate Shipment Frequently Asked Questions

  • Facts: Information Repositories

  • Facts: Kentucky Chemical Demilitarization Citizens’ Advisory Commission and Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board

  • Facts: Nerve Agent Neutralization

  • Facts: Operation Swift Solution

  • Facts: Perimeter Air Monitoring

  • Facts: Personnel Reliability Program

  • Facts: Secondary Waste Treatment and Disposal

  • Facts: Static Detonation Chamber

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