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Study Praises Blue Grass CW Processing Plans
A report by the National Research Council found that the plan by Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass and the U.S. Army to destroy chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky is safe and effective, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported today (see GSN, Oct. 7). The council notes that technical issues remain. However, some of these issues were addressed after information for the report was collected. “I see it as a very positive report,” said Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group. “There were no real surprises and no show-stoppers. It's basically what I would have expected.” The report recommended an extended period of testing because the planned destruction process has never been conducted as a “single, integrated process,” the council said in a press release. The council also found that the operating schedule for the plant is “probably unrealistic.” The Army must destroy chemical weapon stockpiles by 2012 if it is to meet international treaty deadlines. Funding delays have put work a year behind schedule, according to local officials. The council also said changes should be made to the way the rockets are sliced open. Officials, noting fires during the cutting process at other disposal facilities, began exploring alternatives months ago, according to the Herald-Leader. Project leaders will meet soon to discuss the recommendations made in the report, said Katherine DeWeese, a spokeswoman for Defense Department Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program (Peter Mathews, Lexington Herald-Leader, Nov. 15).
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