Plant workers emptied a waste storage area comprising four former chemical weapons storage igloos of the highest permitted level of agent-contaminated waste for the first time Aug. 14.

“This accomplishment demonstrates our commitment to promptly and safely disposition all waste that is generated from closure activities,” said Mike Strong, director of compliance, Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP). “G-Block has been used for storage, management and shipment of this level of agent-contaminated waste since the beginning of operations in 2016, and this is the first time we have been able to completely empty it.”

During closure activities, agent-contaminated equipment, piping and hoses, personal protective equipment and more is being decontaminated to the level permitted by the state of Colorado, then sealed into waste drums and stored in G-Block until it can be shipped to a permitted treatment, storage and disposal facility. Strong said the plant’s operations phase routinely generated significant amounts of waste, making G-Block an active area during this segment of the project, but the quantity of high-level waste is dropping as the plant moves through the decontaminating and decommissioning phases of closure.

“Emptying G-Block is an accomplishment the plant waste management team can really appreciate and celebrate,” said Pat Sullivan, chief engineer and environmental manager, PCAPP. “As closure activities progress and we complete decontamination and decommissioning prior to demolition, we will continue to generate waste, although the quantity of this type of waste will gradually decrease.”

Once decontamination ends, Sullivan said, this level of waste will be nonexistent, and G-Block will undergo its own closure activities. The closure plan indicates that G-Block will be turned over to PuebloPlex, the local reuse authority, or demolished.