As a result of frequent collaboration, Blue Grass plant workers received surplus equipment from the Pueblo plant Dec. 18 to benefit secondary waste operations.
“Getting the spare fragmentation shield is the latest example of the cooperation between the Colorado and Kentucky teams,” said Shannon Pendergrass, site project manager, Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, or BGCAPP.
In November, Blue Grass workers discovered the fragmentation shield on the Static Detonation Chamber, or SDC, 1200 needed to be replaced to ensure continued safe destruction of drained, containerized rocket warheads, or CRWs, containing residual amounts of VX nerve agent. The shield protects the SDC from detonation impacts. The Blue Grass plant has a spare, but the Pueblo plant had one with a newer design.
“The exchange with Kentucky is a win-win for the program and demonstrates the commitment to completing the mission,” said Michael Strong, director of compliance, Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. “It provides a beneficial use for our spare, which no longer is needed, and gives Blue Grass an even more effective option.”
Sharing of information and equipment about SDCs between the two plants has happened for years and has benefited both plants during systemization, operations and now closure, said Kevin Regan, SDC technical resources manager, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass.
“We have shared expertise countless times. The latest example is the process that led to our receiving Pueblo’s spare fragmentation shield, which has an improved design over our spare,” Regan said.
While waiting for the Pueblo equipment to arrive, Blue Grass workers completed several maintenance activities, from inspections to removing the damaged shield. Changing out the fragmentation shields will take several weeks.
Closure has been ongoing at the Blue Grass plant since the last chemical weapon was destroyed in July 2023 and is expected to take until 2027. A key part of those activities is destruction of secondary waste, including the drained CRWs in the SDC 1200 and drained GB nerve agent CRWs in the SDC 2000. A recently revised schedule estimates the final CRWs will be destroyed by November.
