Aberdeen Begins Container Cleanout Operations

Steel containers that have been emptied of mustard agent at the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal facility in Maryland are now being decontaminated and bisected, the U.S. Army announced yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 6, 2004).

Work began Friday at the pilot facility. Containers are moved on conveyers through the Ton Container Cleanout Facility, a sealed area consisting of 11 stations. One station punches holes in the containers; another sprays them with hot water to dislodge hardened material. The rinse water is then removed from the container and neutralized, according to the Army statement. 

A robotic arm removes valves and plugs from the container, which then moves to the next station to be cut in half by a remotely operated machine. The halves are then completely cleansed with hot water, steamed and dried to complete decontamination.

Aberdeen has neutralized 80 percent of its mustard agent stockpile since April 2003, according to the statement (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Jan. 10).

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