Blue Grass Plant 2015 Year in Review - Construction to systemization
The year 2015 was a major milestone year for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. In October, project employees officially shifted from building the plant as part of the construction phase, to testing the equipment and systems that will operate this facility as part of the systemization phase. Work also progressed on the Explosive Destruction Technology site, which will house the Static Detonation Chamber. Throughout the year, safety remained a top priority, surpassing more than 5 million hours without a lost time accident.
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[Music plays]
From construction...
to systemization...
"Give me just a second guys" [beep from walkie-talkie]
The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant reached a major milestone in twenty-fifteen:
the end of construction.
In October, project employees officially shifted from building the pilot plant,
to testing the equipment and systems to operate this complex facility.
Buildings such as the personnel maintenance building,
medical facility and container handling building were constructed.
Hydrolysate storage area tanks and supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) effluent tanks,
where plant by-products will be held, were finished.
And finishing touches were put in place in the munitions demilitarization building,
the plant’s main processing building that houses equipment and systems that will disassemble nerve agent munitions
and neutralize the energetics and chemical agent.
The project fully transitioned to its third of six phases, systemization, or the testing phase.
The heart of BGCAPP, the control room started twenty-four-seven operations to monitor plant utilities and processes.
Utilities such as the chillers came online and systemization work on the boilers moved forward.
At the same time, construction work progressed on a separate facility to destroy the mustard munitions.
In August, the static detonation chamber arrived in the Blue Grass.
Foundations were placed and walls went up to house this explosive destruction technology.
All of this progress could not have happened without a focus on safety.
The occupational safety and health administration’s voluntary protection program
recertified the Blue Grass plant with star status,
their highest recognition.
The project completed more than five millions hours without a lost time accident.
Now, the Blue Grass plant marches forward and continues testing in order to safely eliminate
5-hundred and 23 tons of chemical weapons.
This will represent the destruction of the last chemical agent stockpile site in the country.
[Music plays]
