Highlights
Main Plant Update:
- The last chemical weapon stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot was destroyed in the main plant July 7, 2023. This milestone also means the destruction of the nation’s declared chemical weapons stockpile is complete. The main plant used neutralization to destroy the nerve-agent munitions.
- Overall, more than 101,000 projectiles and rockets containing 523.4 tons of chemical agent, including VX and GB nerve agent and mustard agent, were destroyed.
- The main plant is now in the closure phase, which is expected to take three or four more years. During closure, caustic water solution created during the decontamination of equipment, along with non-agent-contaminated rocket motors, both of which are considered secondary waste, are being shipped off site for final destruction. Plant closure also involves decontamination and decommissioning of facilities and equipment, disposition of property, demolition of facilities not required for future U.S. Army use, and closure of government contracts and environmental permits in accordance with laws and regulations.
- The safety of the workforce, community and environment continues to be the plant’s highest priority during the closure phase.
- This Month:
- Completed removing piping and electrical conduit from Explosive Containment Room 2.
- Continued pressure-washing the Munitions Washout Room and other areas.
- Completed 18% caustic flushes in Explosive Containment Rooms and Explosive Containment Vestibules.
- Continued decontaminating metal equipment parts in the Metal Parts Treater after completing maintenance.
- Submitted closure certification packages on Enhanced On-site Containers to Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection to allow disposition to begin.
- Samples being analyzed from a carbon filter cartridge removed from a Munitions Demilitarization Building filter bank.
Static Detonation Chamber (SDC) 2000 Update:
- The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) is using this SDC unit to destroy secondary waste such as containerized rocket warheads containing GB nerve agent residue.
- This Month:
- As of Feb. 25, 29.9% of more than 50,000 containerized rocket warheads containing residual amounts of GB nerve agent had been destroyed.
- Conducted maintenance activities on off-gas treatment system and detonation chamber.
- Completed routine inspections of detonation chamber.
SDC 1200 Update:
- BGCAPP converted the Explosive Destruction Technology (EDT), previously used to destroy the mustard-agent munitions, into the SDC 1200, which began operations in October 2023. This SDC unit is destroying secondary waste, including containerized rocket warheads containing VX agent residue.
- This Month:
- As of Feb. 25, 19.2% of more than 17,000 containerized rocket warheads containing residual amounts of VX nerve agent had been destroyed.
- Continued steady ramp-up toward full processing operations and conducted maintenance activities.
- Preparing for emissions testing in March.
- Completed planned outage for quench tower clean out.
Upcoming Meetings
The next Kentucky Chemical Demilitarization Citizens’ Advisory Commission and Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board meeting will be held:
March 6, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. ET
Carl D. Perkins Building, Rooms A and B
Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, Kentucky
A live video stream of the meeting will be available on the Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA) YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/usaeacwa and the PEO ACWA Facebook page at www.facebook.com/peoacwa. For information, contact the Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office at (859) 626-8944 or bgoutreach@iem.com.
