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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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Pueblo Plant Preparing to Destroy Mortar Rounds

Published: October 27, 2022 | Category: PCAPP News, Technology
Cavity Access Machines recently went through a significant redesign to accommodate 4.2-inch mortar round processing in the main plant, resulting in the development of Improved Cavity Access Machines, or ICAMs.

Cavity Access Machines recently went through a significant redesign to accommodate 4.2-inch mortar round processing in the main plant, resulting in the development of Improved Cavity Access Machines, or ICAMs.

Cavity Access Machines, often called CAMs, inside the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant were upgraded to allow for efficient destruction of 4.2-inch mortar rounds containing mustard agent.

“The addition of the ICAMs allows PCAPP to process mortars rounds in the main plant simultaneously with destruction operations at the Static Detonation Chamber complex,” said Walton Levi, site project manager. “Destroying mortars in the main plant and SDC puts us on track to complete agent destruction by September 2023.”

The ICAMs, shorthand for Improved Cavity Access Machines, are part of the Munitions Washout System in the Agent Processing Building, which will remove burster wells to access the mortar body cavity and remove mustard agent using a low-pressure wash and vacuum system.

In the original PCAPP design, the destruction of the mortars would have required a cutting process to drain the mustard agent, but ICAMs now will allow mustard to be removed with a vacuum, making the process safer according to Levi.

A team of PCAPP employees traveled to Kentucky, home of the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Plant, to visit CRG Automation, where the ICAMs were developed and tested. Eleven units have been delivered to PCAPP; three are at the plant’s nearby Training Facility.

“Our folks completed the installation and assembly of the ICAMs,” said Kim Jackson, plant manager. “They completely took charge of the Factory Acceptance Test, made recommendations and took action to improve the entire process.”

The first step in getting the ICAMs operational is to receive the necessary permit approvals and authorizations from CDPHE and to teach the robots the various steps using special software coding.

“That’s what we’re doing now,” said Wendell Savage, training simulation engineer, PCAPP Training Facility. “We’ll have a team in full Demilitarization Protective Ensemble ready to go into the area to teach the robots the new code using a teaching pendant, which looks similar to an iPad.”

Savage said this is the first-time instrumentation and controls technicians will be teaching in full DPE.

The ICAMs will be used in the destruction of a portion of the remaining mortar rounds while destruction of mortars in three SDC units continues. Earlier CAM units were used in the campaigns to destroy 155mm and 105mm projectiles at PCAPP.

Related Posts

  • A pallet of previously rejected 155mm projectiles awaits destruction. Approximately 200 of the 155mm projectiles were rejected by the plant’s automated robotic destruction systems. The rejected munitions have been re-introduced into the system, now upgraded with the devices.

    Safe Destruction of Previously Rejected Projectiles Moves Forward in Pueblo Plant

    Published: September 13, 2022
  • The Improved Cavity Access Machine was proposed to safely destroy 4.2-inch mortar rounds in the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant automated process. Based on existing Cavity Access Machine technology, the ICAM uses a vacuum-powered probe to remove agent.

    Improved Equipment Could Accelerate Destruction at Pueblo Plant

    Published: July 5, 2022
  • After a chemical weapon is drained of agent and rinsed with high-pressure hot water, Agent Washwater Separator tanks collect fluid before sending it to Agent Neutralization Reactors to destroy the mustard agent. The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant has two tanks, providing the plant with redundancy when neutralizing agent.

    Backup Systems Allow for Safe Repairs

    Published: March 28, 2022
  • A Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant maintenance technician dons and escape breathing apparatus during backup rescue training exercises in 2020.

    Pueblo Plant Safety Rates Exceed Industry Standard

    Published: August 17, 2021
  • Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Entry Support Area tender Ezra Maldonado is outfitted with the Demilitarization Protective Ensemble prior to completion of the 10,000th DPE entry at PCAPP.

    Pueblo Plant Workers Achieve Safety Milestone

    Published: May 12, 2021
  • A Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant personal protective equipment technician dons a Powered Air Purifying Respirator hood during a PAPR training session.

    Repurposed Safety Equipment Used for Training

    Published: May 4, 2021
Pueblo, Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant

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