CHEM DEMIL: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
U.S. Army is working closely with FEMA and has directly provided over $1 billion to those communities in order for them to be the best trained in the country.
“That is a legacy,” he said. “We’ve worked to ensure that each community understands the potential dangers and, more importantly, is trained on how to respond. Fortunately, we’ve never had a real-world incident that required any off- post reaction.”
FINAL CHAPTER The last On-Site Container, shown behind the last Mustard Ton Container at the Tooele Chemi- cal Agent Disposal Facility, UT, marks the completion of CMA’s mission to destroy all chemical agent munitions.
April 29, 2012. The U.S. Army has met that goal,” Spencer said. “The results of our efforts were presented to the Hague.”
In their destruction, most of the chemi- cal munitions are reverse-assembled using incinerators, automation, and state-of- the-art robotics, Spencer said. “Robotic systems disassemble the artillery rounds. The liquid agent is drained and then sent to holding tanks, where it is later placed in an incinerator reaching temperatures in excess of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit,” he explained. “Rockets, land mines, artillery shells, and steel casings are robotically sent to a metal parts furnace as well.”
The areas where the incineration takes place are built for safety, with 22-inch- thick concrete walls.
Water and sodium hydroxide-based neu- tralization methods were used to destroy stockpiles at facilities at Aberdeen and Newport.
“We’ve reached the end of operations. The Army stockpile is gone. There are a lot of things behind this, such as the qual- ity, commitment, and dedication of the
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workforce,” said COL John Lemondes, Elimination at CMA.
A LEGACY OF SAFETY Lemondes and Spencer emphasized that safety was a huge part of the equa- tion throughout the many years of Army chem-demil efforts; in fact, the Army achieved a “0.28” monthly recordable effectiveness of Army safety procedures. Any RIR less than 1 is considered to rep- resent world-class safety, Lemondes said.
“We did this through continuous process, as part of the culture. We’re very safety- conscious. We do root-cause analysis on everything that may have gone wrong. This has involved constant leadership efforts to make sure every aspect of safety was applied,” he added.
“One of the lasting legacies of the program is that each community where we destroyed chemical weapons is now a preeminent community fully trained and equipped to respond to any emergency, whether it be an environmental disaster or terrorist event,” Spencer said. “That is because the
The Army is now beginning the process of effectively transitioning its workers and closing the facilities in an environmentally safe manner. In some cases, communi- ties may retain buildings, laboratories, or facilities; by law, the Army has to disman- tle each of the facilities unless there is a separate agreement between the state gov- ernment and the Secretary of the Army.
While each state may have different standards and approach the issue of closing differently, it generally takes about two years to close down a facility, Lemondes said.
the priority is the people who have done this work. Many of these people have dedicated their professional lives to this,” he added.
THE WORKERS
In fact, many workers involved for decades in the effort attended APG’s May and commemorate this important Army milestone.
“It took hundreds, if not thousands, of people to make this happen every day. My kids tell me, ‘You’re making a difference.’ Everyone worked together and did their part,” said Amy Dean, a 14-year veteran of CMA as an Environmental Engineer
Army AL&T Magazine
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