Published: March 24, 2008 08:33 am      

Mission: Destruction

Several projects continue at depot

Approximately 200 engineers have been working on plans for three buildings that will be a part of the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP).

Designs for the munitions demilitarization building, control support building and supercritical water oxidation processing building are among the three structures with submitted designs.

Some of the engineers who previously were located at the Bechtel Parsons corporate office in Pasadena, Calif., will soon be relocating to Richmond to complete design work.

The staff of about 45 people will include engineers from the California office, as well as local hires, according to information from Jim Fritsche, Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant site project manager, and Mark Seely, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass project manager.

Several projects for the destruction plant are ongoing, including parking lot lighting, excavation and installation and storm drain and electrical installations.

Work also is being done to the personnel support building, maintenance building and visitor registration facility.

Projects to begin this year include: placing underground utilities such as gas lines, storm drains and sewer pipes; erecting canopy covers to protect truck and car inspection areas at the access control building; installing concrete for the munitions demilitarization building and control support building; and constructing a substation for electricity distribution.

“(This year) will be an exciting year for the project as the pilot plant main construction site continues to take shape with the placement of horizontal concrete for the main destruction facility and the assembly of two new support buildings,” said Gary Cough, BGCAPP construction manager.

When operational, the facilities included in the destruction plant will be used to neutralize and render harmless the stockpile of chemical weapons that has been stored at the depot, some for as long as 60 years.

Phase one of the construction started in the summer of 2006 with the construction of a site access road and the initial earthwork for the main plant.

The Allen Co. of Winchester is the subcontractor for this work.

Additional completed work includes perimeter fencing, concrete work, roadway lighting, cable installation and mechanical utilities installation.

Several years will pass before phase three construction is complete because that includes start of main plant construction with a number of facilities, including a truck and auto inspection canopy, visitor registration facility, water tank installation, pre-engineered buildings and a substation.

To learn more about the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant or to request speakers for schools, churches or civic groups, contact the Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office at 1000 Commercial Drive, Suite 2, call 626-8944 or e-mail bgoutreach@bah.com.

For more information about employment with the project or about subcontracting, look on the Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass Web site at www.bechtelparsonsbgcapp.com.

Another disposal project that is rapidly moving along is Operation Swift Solution.

A one-gallon liquid leak containing about 40 percent GB nerve agent spilled into a ton container holding pan in August and has since been supervised daily.

Operation Swift Solution was initiated to destroy these ton containers that only add an additional safety risk for workers, said Kevin Flamm, ACWA (Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternative) program manager.

“The continued presence of these containers has the potential to disrupt the pilot plant construction schedule and is at best an unnecessary distraction for the work force,” he said in a recent Bechtel Parsons newsletter.

A Chemical Agent Transfer System (CHATS) will be used to destroy the 157 gallons of toxic chemical mixture being stored in three stainless steel containers.

Destruction of the containers is under way and is estimated to cost about $2 million.

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