Destruction method safe, study states
By Ronica Brandenburg/Register News Writer

A study recently completed by the National Research Council concludes that the chosen method of destruction for weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot is safe and effective, but putting all aspects of the plant together will be the next challenge, said Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) Program Director Michael Parker.

The National Academies' National Research Council released results of a study Monday regarding the design of a pilot plant that will destroy the chemical weapons stored at the depot. The pilot plant is a project of the ACWA program.

“The safety has been clearly demonstrated early in the ACWA project,” Parker said. “Those elements with high safety risks have been eliminated and the fundamental approach (to destroying the weapons) is well-demonstrated to be safe and environmentally adequate to destroy the weapons stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot.”

The weapons will be destroyed by “neutralization” - a process using a sodium hydroxide solution - followed by oxidation in water under very high temperature and pressure.

After the chemical agents and various rocket segments are treated with neutralizing solutions, the material that remains, called hydrolysate, is treated by way of supercritical water oxidation or SCWO - water at temperatures greater than 705 degrees Fahrenheit and pressures about 220 times the atmospheric pressure - and thereby transformed into an environmentally benign substance.

As preparations for the pilot plant continue, there will be more challenges, Parker said.

“There's going to be some engineering issues,” he said. “When it's all put together, we expect some challenges. There will be a systemization phase where operators will be trained, we will run the equipment and look at all the data to make sure we can safely operate the plant.”

Fires that occurred at weapon destruction plants in Arkansas and Oregon stemmed from the breakdown of M55 rockets containing GB nerve agent, which also are stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot.

No humans come into contact with the rockets during this process and all action is monitored on a closed-circuit television, however, alternative methods to destroying the rockets are being studied.

“We have the wealth of the operating experience (in Arkansas and Oregon) to take into the Blue Grass design,” he said.

Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group based in Berea, admits that the operation of the pilot plant will be trying.

“There are a number of challenges which still face the project, but, all of them are workable and safety remains the number one priority,” Williams said. “The report validates the contractors ability to identify and address technical challenges associated with this project and such challenges would be expected in any project of this magnitude.”

The design plan was submitted to the Army in July 2004 and operations at the plant are expected to start in 2008.

The facility's design must be 60-percent complete by February 2006 and is meant to reduce costs and speed the process of destroying chemical weapons. Around 800 employees will be needed once the facility is constructed.

The previous plant design called for 99,000 square feet; however, the redesign has decreased the size to around 69,000 square feet.

The current cost for the plant is estimated at about $2 billion,

Ronica Brandenburg can be reached at rbrandenburg@ richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.