Published: November 22, 2008 06:02 pm      

One down, two to go at depot; leaker monitored

As of Wednesday, approximately 16 gallons of the deadly GB (sarin) nerve agent and its breakdown products had successfully been neutralized as a part of Operation Swift Solution being conducted at the Blue Grass Army Depot.

The project is separate from the overall chemical weapons demilitarization project that is to be complete by 2023.

The “Swift Solution” project began Wednesday, Nov. 12, to break down and dispose of the nerve agent mixture in three ton containers, one of which has leaked in the past.

Two containers have been moved from their original storage igloo to the operations structure housing the CHATS (Chemical Agent Transfer System). The contents of the first container, which contained the least amount of the nerve agent mixture, were successfully drained and neutralized. Neutralization of the contents of the second container is currently under way.

The third container, which is the container that leaked in August 2007, remains in the storage igloo under daily monitoring.

The nerve agent mixture inside the containers is beginning to erode the threads on the containers, which is what caused the 2007 leak.

Operation Swift Solution will safely eliminate all risks associated with the long-term storage of the steel containers and their contents.

A CHATS was brought to the depot from the Edgewood Chemical Activity in Maryland.

The CHATS is being used to destroy the 157 gallons of toxic chemical mixture being stored in three stainless steel containers.

The project is moving along on time, according to Tim Blades of ECBC (Edgewood Chemical Biological Center) who leads the unit operations at the depot.

“Things are going well and we are meeting all of our treatment goals,” Blades said.

The CHATS is essentially a sealed box that allows operators to manually drain the contents of a ton container into a self-contained neutralization reactor.

The waste temporarily will be stored at the depot, then a contract will be formed with a commercial facility to have them provide appropriate disposal.

“I’m pleased with the progress made thus far,” Blades said.

However, there was a slight problem Monday with one of the system’s generators

An error signal was generated Monday in the CHATS monitoring unit, indicating there were problems with a generator’s power output.

All emergency systems were operating and no one was in the structure at the time.

Generators and electrical connections were switched, and the monitoring system was reset.

Follow-up maintenance activities later that day included making adjustments to the filtration system and a 45-second controlled shut-down of the CHATS filter system that resulted in an anticipated monitoring system alarm.

Filtration of the overall operational structure continued as normal. A power outage was tested and the back-up generator functioned as designed, with all equipment and filter systems working properly.

“With the start up of any new operation, there are going to be issues, but hopefully very few unforeseen events,” Blades said.

Army teams including members from the ECBC, the Blue Grass Chemical Activity, the Blue Grass Army Depot and Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, are involved in the destruction effort, with cooperation and oversight from local and state government agencies and daily oversight from the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection.

Visit www.pmacwa.army.mil/ky/swift_solution.htm for previous advisories and additional information.

 

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