February 7, 2006
For More Information
Contact:
Release #06-01
CMA Public Affairs (410)
436-4555
ABCDF Public Affairs (410) 436-5253
Workers Finish Cleaning and
Decontaminating Emptied Mustard Agent Containers
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND (APG), Md. 3⁄4 Today, workers
at the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (ABCDF) safely completed
cleaning and decontaminating all 1,817 containers that once stored mustard
agent at the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG).
The Ton Container Cleanout (TCC) process is the second
and final phase of destruction operations at ABCDF. The first phase,
destroying the stored agent, was completed in March 2005, when the last batch
of the drained mustard agent stockpile was neutralized. This made APG
the first of the Army's eight chemical demilitarization facilities in the
continental United States to remove the risk posed by its chemical stockpile
to the community. As a result of completing the final phase of destruction
operations, ABCDF will now fully enter an anticipated two-plus year closure
phase.
"We are committed to destroying the entire U.S. stockpile
safely and expeditiously," said Chemical Materials Agency Director Michael
Parker. "The end of operations at the ABCDF and its full-throttled launch
into closure is evidence of this, and we are extremely pleased with these
accomplishments."
During the final phase of destruction operations, conveyors
moved empty ton containers through an 11-step cleaning process that included
punching holes in the containers, cutting them in half, up-ending the container
halves for a hot water high-pressure wash inside and out, followed by steam
cleaning and drying. Sensors carefully monitored the containers to
verify that decontamination was complete. The containers then
were shipped off site for disposal as non-hazardous waste.
The TCC system design was based on Army development
testing conducted in the mid 90s. "Cleaning the mustard residue from the
ton containers with high pressure water and steam had never been accomplished
before," said ABCDF Site Project Manager Joseph Lovrich. "The TCC process
lived up to the engineering excellence award the ABCDF team received last
April for its outstanding design, fabrication and startup."
Within the next few days workers will flush TCC system
piping and all rinse water will be neutralized.
Because the United States has joined nations around
the world to rid the globe of dangerous chemical weapons under the Chemical
Weapons Convention treaty, once the last batch of hydrolysate is disposed
of, the General Secretariat for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons will declare that all treaty requirements for the ABCDF have been
met.
Explaining next steps at the ABCDF Lovrich said, "Our
work doesn't stop here. Now that we have reached the end of operations, we
will focus our attention on safely closing the facility in accordance with
all applicable public and environmental laws."
Reflecting on the path ahead, Bechtel Aberdeen Project
Manager Mark Seely noted, "We began safe operations in April 2003. It's almost
bitter sweet to now disassemble and close the facility, but we are proud
of our contributions to this mission thus far, and are ready to finish the
job safely and efficiently."
To date, the Army has disposed of more than 38 percent
of the nation's stored chemical agent and more than 47 percent of the stored
chemical weapon munitions. APG is the second out of nine chemical stockpile
sites to have destroyed 100 percent of its stockpile. The Army completed
disposal operations at the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System,
located 800 miles southwest of Hawaii, in 2000.
For more information about the end of operations at
the ABCDF or closure activities, contact the ABCDF Public Affairs Office
at 410-436-5253. For additional information, call the U.S. Army Chemical
Materials Agency Public Affairs Office toll-free phone number, 1-800-488-0648
or visit CMA's Web site, www.cma.army.mil.
# # #
Photo available at: http://www.cma.army.mil/multimediagallery.aspx?criteria=site&value=ABCDF
The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (CMA) is
a dedicated team whose expertise and oversight sets the standards of excellence
and leadership in safely storing the nation's aging chemical weapons and
developing programs aimed at effectively recovering, treating and ultimately
eliminating the nation's chemical warfare materiel. CMA personnel also enhance
national security by providing specialized products and capabilities to our
nation's Warfighters, and homeland defense and response capabilities. CMA
encourages public participation and is committed to worker and public safety,
and environmental stewardship. For more information about CMA and its programs,
visit www.cma.army.mil.