Chemical weapons plant gets first new building
EQUIPMENT WILL BE CLEANED, REPAIRED AT DEPOT FACILITY
By Steve Lannen
CENTRAL KENTUCKY BUREAU
RICHMOND - To the casual observer, it looks from the outside like just a plain, concrete building in the middle of Madison County.
And it is.
But a new laundry facility also is a "first step" toward the disposal of the chemical weapons stored at Blue Grass Army Depot, said Army Lt. Col. George Shuplinkov, who oversees chemical activity there.
"This is the first tangible thing we've seen. I'm excited about it," he said.
The $2 million laundry facility, which had an official ribbon-cutting yesterday, is designed to be the central point for issuing, cleaning and repairing the protective equipment workers will wear in the depot's destruction facility.
That includes masks and heavy rubber suits to protect workers who might come in contact with nerve or mustard agent. Special laundry machines clean the suits, which are inspected for leaks by pumping air through them.
Kentucky is expected to receive about $176 million to dispose of chemical weapons under provisions included in the federal budget for 2007 unveiled earlier this month.
Previously, $33 million for the Kentucky and Colorado facilities had been restricted to use for research and development, as requested by the Department of Defense. That money can now be used for construction.
Under an international treaty, the United States has until April 2012 to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile. That includes the 523 tons of nerve and blister agent stored at the depot in Richmond.
Road construction related to the $2 billion Richmond plant is expected to begin this summer and construction of the plant would continue through 2010, according to Jim Fritsche, Bluegrass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant site project manager.
About 750 people could be hired to help build the plant, with 600 others hired for actual weapons disposal work, Fritsche said. Weapons disposal is expected to start in July 2011 and continue through the end of 2012.
Shuplinkov hesitated to say when other buildings would be constructed to neutralize the chemical weapons. Much of that will depend on federal funding. He said plans were delayed last year because they were unable to cut down several trees to build a road that will connect Ky. 52 to the depot.
That has now happened, Shuplinkov said.
"We're back on track. ... This is going to happen," he said.