The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) team reached two milestones in January with the installation of the final structural steel beam on a key support facility and the first concrete placement in the main processing building of the chemical weapons destruction pilot plant.
“Since construction began on the Blue Grass destruction facility, our team has celebrated progress each step of the way, but accomplishing these two milestones on two of the main processing facilities signifies to our team and the community that we are getting closer to ridding Madison County of the chemical weapons stockpile,” said Jeff Brubaker, BGCAPP site project manager. “More important than this achievement is that our workforce continues to work safely while making significant progress. The team has worked 2,436 days and 4.9 million hours without a lost-time injury.”
The structural steel erection on the Control and Support Building began in September 2009 and was completed on Jan. 27. The building will house the control room and other support facilities for the destruction plant, measuring 37,000 square feet and 44 feet high. Craft workers will now begin focusing on the installation of the exterior walls.
On Jan. 28, construction team members placed the first concrete in the explosives containment area of the Munitions Demilitarization Building (MDB), which is where weapons will be destroyed. This area of the building is constructed with specially designed, heavily reinforced concrete walls to contain an unlikely explosion during plant operations. The MDB will take the longest to construct due to the complexity of the design.
Additional work in progress at the MDB includes the installation of reinforcing steel for future concrete placements and preparations to erect structural steel.
Over the next several weeks, work crews will also begin assembling the Metal Parts Treater, the first piece of processing equipment to be installed there.
The chemical weapons destruction plant, under construction at a site on the Blue Grass Army Depot off of Hwy. 52, will destroy a stockpile of chemical weapons containing 523 tons of nerve and mustard agents.
Visit the ACWA Web site at www.pmacwa.army.mil for more information about the project.
Local News
2010 marks two firsts for weapons disposal plant
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Trash piling up at mobile home park
Uncollected household waste at a mobile home park on Big Hill Avenue in Richmond will draw a notice of violation from the Madison County Health Department and is prompting the city to clean up the site on its own.
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Realities of prescription pill abuse spark another summit
Prescription drug abuse has become so prevalent in parts of Kentucky, people are buying Mason jars of clean urine at flea markets and under the table at tobacco stores so they can pass drug tests.
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Tackling childhood obesity
NFL football player and former University of Kentucky running back Artose Pinner autographed lunch bags, footballs, notebook paper and anything Glenn Marshall elementary students could find (including arms and hands) during his visit Thursday to kick off the Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUTP 60) grant program.
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Police charge two with making meth
A traffic stop late Tuesday evening ended in two arrests for manufacturing methamphetamine.
A Richmond Police officer working traffic enforcement on the Robert R. Martin Bypass stopped a vehicle at about 11:50 p.m. for a traffic offense. The officer discovered several methamphetamine precursors and paraphernalia in the vehicle that police say were tied to one of the passengers in the vehicle, Curment Nicholas Carpenter, 40, of Lexington Road. -
Man pleads guilty to driving to Richmond for sex with girl
(Editor’s note: This story contains graphic information some readers may find offensive.)
An Indiana man will serve at least 10 years in prison for traveling to Richmond to have sex with a 13-year-old girl, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lexington. -
Berea Arena Theater presents: Kitchen Witches
Performances are 8 p.m. Friday through Saturday, and Feb. 10-11, and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 12 at 1835 Big Hill Road (KY 21) in Berea. Call 986-9039 for tickets, $8 for adults and $5 for students/children.
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A toe to spare
Pigs usually have four toes on a foot, but not always, Leland “Bud” Bennett of Whitlock Road, said he learned this week.
While preparing the head and feet of a pig to make souse meat, Bennett said he made a surprising discovery after removing two of the toes.
When he went to cut off the next two, there were three. A smaller, third toe was higher up the leg.
“I’m 84, and I’d never seen a pig’s foot with five toes,” he said.
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Model Laboratory’s annual Lunar New Year Celebration
Model Laboratory third-graders Olivia Florell, left, and Katie Upchurch, inside a paper dragon, wait Wednesday morning with their classmates in the school hallway for the start of the annual Lunar New Year Celebration parade. The students created the dragon after learning about Asian
calligraphy in art class and walked with the dragon, while playing instruments and clapping, to the end of the hall in front of classmates in pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade who have also been studying aspects of Asian culture. The parade is intended to bring good luck and friendship to the school for the new year, the Chinese New Year of the Dragon, said art teacher Denise Discepoli. -
Teacher turned award-winning author to read at Richmond Area Arts Council tonight
Because Rebecca D. Elswick won publication of her debut novel, “Mama’s Shoes,” in a national contest, it might be easy to view her as a kind of literary American Idol.
But, unlike many of the precocious American Idol winners, Elswick toiled and studied her craft for years before achieving success. Now, the accolades are accumulating, and each honor further confirms her status as one of the hottest emerging authors in the South.
She will read and sign books tonight along with Lexington author George Ella Lyon at the Richmond Area Arts Council, 399 W. Water St., beginning at 6:30 p.m. -
Project Read helps students turn the page
Steve Hupp likes solving problems, and at 27 years old, he has seen more than his fair share. Hupp has been in and out of hospitals since childhood, making it difficult for him to focus on school. To make it worse, he also is dyslexic.
Hupp dropped out of school in the 11th grade.
“Some places wouldn’t even give me an application,” he said about his search for a job. “I had doors close on me. I even had girlfriends break up with me.” - More Local News Headlines
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