Army forum inspiring, educational

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September 7, 2010

By Ronica Shannon Register News Writer The Richmond Register Tue Sep 07, 2010, 04:00 PM EDT

RICHMOND — Members of Richmond’s Citizen’s Advisory Commission (CAC) for the Blue Grass Army Depot demilitarization project recently traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., for the 17th annual Environmental Forum hosted by the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency.

The main purpose of the gathering was to bring the various sites CACs and regulators together to share lessons and advice on the best path forward for their respective site, said CAC member Craig Williams.

“The primary focus is on environmental compliance, but a wide variety of topics are covered,” he said.

One item of discussion was a mustard projectile X-ray plan. Some of the weapons stored in igloos at the Blue Grass Army Depot contain mustard gas.

Some of the mustard gas in the weapons has solidified and will not be able to be removed and/or neutralized.

The X-ray plan is scheduled to begin at the Blue Grass Army Depot this fall or next spring.

A number of rounds will be randomly selected from the storage units and X-rayed to determine how solidified the agent is, Williams said.

“The result will tell us how many problem mustard rounds we can expect,” he said. “If it’s a significant number (50 percent or more) it will be considered not to process the entire Mustard stockpile through the main facility but rather, process them via an Explosive Detonation Technology (EDT).”

The Army has procured an EDT at chemical weapon incineration sites in Alabama and Utah to help with the disposal of their problematic mustard rounds.

“We will have the benefit of reviewing the performance and environmental efficacy of these EDT’s before selecting the one for our site,” Williams said. “We will use an EDT for some rounds, that we know. The question is how many? That is what the X-ray program is going to determine.”

During the forum, Williams said he noticed a different kind of relationship between those in favor of burning the chemical weapons and those opposed who support neutralization.

“Historically there has been a lot of antagonism and hostility between the two programs,” he said. “That has been mitigated noticeably as everyone is now settled on the technology issue. There is a greater level of cooperation than I’ve witnessed since the law creating ACWA (Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternative) was passed in 1996. This is positive, as we as a nation are committed to getting rid of all our chemical weapons.”

The visit to the Colorado Environmental Forum and the Pueblo depot construction site was “very inspiring,” he said.

“Several years ago, I was there and it was nothing but a leveled area,” Williams said. “Now, they are 75-percent complete with construction and the system is a reality. I spoke with some workers privately and each was very positive about the safety culture in place. This is something to be appreciated as we move forward.”

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.

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