A Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Laboratory staff member analyzes Depot Area Air Monitoring System, or DAAMS, tubes. The perimeter monitoring stations, using DAAMS, will provide historical monitoring to augment near real-time monitoring at the plant.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, or BGCAPP, is safely destroying more than 523 tons of chemical agent stored in rockets and projectiles at the Blue Grass Army Depot. During operations, air in and around the plant is monitored on a continuous basis with the safety of the workforce, community and environment as a top priority.

The monitoring includes eight stations strategically placed around the plant and the igloos that house the chemical weapons. The stations provide historical data and a permanent operating record. Additionally, they assist with confirming or refuting the unlikely event of chemical agent release beyond the boundaries of the stations.

Personnel determined the location of each station based on years of historical data, including prevailing wind direction and other important weather patterns.

Each station contains a Depot Area Air Monitoring System, or DAAMS, which contain two sorbent tubes that collect air samples every 12 hours. Before BGCAPP operations began, Laboratory personnel used the monitoring stations to collect baseline data on air quality.

During operations, Laboratory personnel collect the two DAAMS tubes from each perimeter monitoring station on a regular basis and analyze the results within 72 hours. In the event the first tube returns positive results of chemical agent, the second tube, using a different analytical method, is tested to confirm or refute results.

The perimeter monitoring stations detect chemical agent in the air at the part-per-trillion level. This is like detecting one grain of sugar in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Perimeter monitoring stations are not meant to provide near real-time data. Miniature Continuous Air Monitoring Systems, or MINICAMS, placed in the plant and at the Clean-Air Exhaust Stacks, provide immediate information on air conditions to plant personnel.

In the unlikely event chemical agent is released into the atmosphere during operations, plant personnel will follow all established procedures to notify the local community.