CHEMICAL DEPOT

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ACWA had been working since 1999 to pilot new technologies and demonstrated two alternative methods to incineration.

ACWA worked with a community advisory board to select neutralization followed by biotreatment for the Pueblo Chemical Depot. The method required the creation of an entire facility onsite to dispose of the weapons safely. The key element of the method of biotreatment is the introduction of microbes that eat away the residue of mustard agent destruction.

The Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky chose to use neutralization followed by supercritical water oxidation. They are the last remaining destruction site with agent to be destroyed, and are nearing the end of operations.

ACWA contractors began construction of the PCAPP facility on the Pueblo Chemical Depot to begin destroying munitions from 2004-12, followed by extensive testing of systems. On Sept. 7, 2016, processing began at the PCAPP.

Johnson, when asked why they did not opt to move the gas to an existing site, said, “no governor or senator is going to allow this stuff to go through their state if they don’t have to. It’s here, it’s relatively stable, no one wants to move it long distances.”

The Department of Defense and its systems contractor, the Bechtel Pueblo Team, have had more than 1,500 skilled and trained employees working on the project. Most of these employees have known for a long time that their job would eventually end in Pueblo.

“I think most employees feel like this is how we’re serving our country,” Jackson said, “We’re cleaning up dangerous aging chemical weapons, and that’s pretty cool.”

The process

PCAPP is a highly automated facility that used robotic technology to disassemble munitions.

Munitions were stored in large bunkers spread across the site referred to as igloos. These igloos are 12.5 feet high, 26 feet wide and either 40, 60 or 80 feet long. They have walls 6 to 12 feet thick and maintain temperatures of 40-70 degrees. There are 991 igloos on the depot.

Munitions were taken from igloos by depot personnel, then a robotic driving transport carried them into the plant for processing. Before they were taken, they were evaluated to see if they were considered “problematic munitions.” Problematic munitions can include “leakers,” which are munitions emitting vapor in an igloo. These were sealed in a steel container to await destruction.

Once in the facility, the first step was to remove the weapon’s energetics, which are the fuze and burster. These are typically found in the head of the munition. They were robotically removed and shipped to a facility in Alabama to be destroyed.

The second step: removal of the mustard agent. The burster well, which contains the mustard agent, was removed from the munition. The Improved Cavity Access Machine moved the burster well to a punch site, where holes were punched to vent pressure. The mortar was then washed at a high temperature for 200 seconds.

This part of the process took place in an air-locked central chamber. Though, the robots operating in the room would occasionally need maintenance, so employees would be equipped with large suits to protect them from agent contamination. The suits are single-use, and are cut off and disposed of at the end of each trip inside. Todd Ailes, the project manager for the Bechtel Pueblo Team, emphasized that safety was key to this project.

“This project started in 2003, with 43 million hours worked on the project to date, in that time there have only been nine lost time worked cases.” Ailes said. “The last one was in October of 2019. Safety is a value for our team every day.”

The mustard agent was mixed with hot water to break down the chemical. Afterwards, the product of the mustard and water mix, known as hydrolysate, was sent to a large tank containing microbes that digest and break down the solution.

After the solution was mixed down, the water was pure enough to be reused.

“They didn’t drain the Colorado River, and we’re basically able to maintain this plant all on our own with our water recovery system,” Jackson said. “We used 200,000 gallons of water, you can imagine the impact that would have made on the state.”

The remainder of the metal parts were cleansed: heated to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

Problematic emissions including leakers were destroyed without disassembly in the Static Detonation Chambers. Off-gasses were treated by an off-gas treatment system.

The entire process, from start to finish, was monitored by a team who oversaw the robots via camera.

At 8 a.m. on June 22, after playing “The Final Countdown” over loudspeaker, a final pop was heard as the last munition was detonated in a Static Detonation Chamber at PCAPP. This marked the completion of an almost seven-year period of destroying munitions. The employees let out a cheer at the sound.

“It’s all thanks to the courageous, extraordinary men and women of this project who face the high hazard every day to achieve this accomplishment,” Jackson said. “We recovered from technical challenges and we never stopped during a worldwide pandemic.”

Walton Levi, PCAPP’s government field office site project manager, addressed the crowd: “I’m prone to spontaneous utterances of those four letter words. But today I get to use that special one: done.”

The future

Now that the munitions have been destroyed, the Pueblo Chemical Depot and PCAPP move to the next phase of the project. All facilities are to be closed in a safe, environmentally-protective manner.

The process of chemical destruction facility closure includes five overall steps.

• Decontamination: removal of residual contamination.

• Decommissioning: making sure equipment is safe for removal and demolition.

• Dispositioning: transfer of government personal property for sale, reuse, recycling and disposal.

• Demolition: removal of facilities not required for future Army use.

• Administrative closeout: closure of environmental permits, contracts and archiving.

Officials said the process of closure will continue until an estimated closure date in December 2025. The Colorado Chemical Demilitarization Citizens’ Advisory Commission will remain active until then.

PuebloPlex is designated as the local redevelopment authority for surplus property at the depot. They have already received land and igloos, and will be handed off more and more as the project comes to a close. Russell DeSalvo III, the president and CEO of the organization, oversees the nearly 16,000 acres it encompasses.

“We’re responsible for using the assets on the Pueblo Chemical Depot for economic development purposes, job creation, job retention and we intend to make sure property is safe for use for the citizens of the state of Colorado,” he said. “We look forward to the process being complete, but we have a lot of work ahead of us.”

As the plant moves towards the closure phase, certain workforce positions will become non-essential to the functioning of the depot and the plant on its grounds. These employees now face either moving to another opportunity or retirement. Others will be retained for the closure process.

“We’ve had a strategy for several years now of how we can take care of this incredible workforce,” Jackson said.

PCAPP has hosted two job fairs for their employees, one for national companies and another for local companies.

“This is a gold mine of talent,” she said.

Jackson said some of the workforce wants to stay local. According to Ailes, two-thirds of the workforce of Bechtel Pueblo is from Colorado.

“These are people who have done something so important for our country,” Jackson added, “and we need to do everything we can to help them as they leave this adventure and move on to their next.”