The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) safely destroyed more than 523 tons of chemical agent stored in rockets and projectiles at the Blue Grass Army Depot. During the destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile and agent-contaminated secondary waste, 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 storage igloos that housed 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 (DAAMS), containing sorbent tubes that are aspirated to collect air samples 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Before BGCAPP operations began, laboratory personnel used the monitoring stations to collect baseline data on air quality.
Laboratory personnel collect the DAAMS tubes from each perimeter monitoring station daily and analyze the results within 72 hours. If 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 agents in the air at the parts-per-trillion level. This is like detecting one grain of sugar in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
Perimeter monitoring stations are historical monitors, meaning they do not provide near real-time data. Miniature Continuous Air Monitoring Systems, placed in the plant and at the Clean-Air Exhaust Stacks, provided data to plant personnel.
Monitoring stations will remain in place until approval is granted by the Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives and Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection to terminate the monitoring.