PUEBLO CHEMICAL DEPOT, Colo. -- The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) has a star cast when it comes to safety, and their lead role is to support employees involved in agent area entries.
The Chemical Agent Safety Team, or CAST, consists of control room operators, ordnance technicians and entry support area tenders, among others. This employee-led team focuses on toxic area entries from the entrant perspective. Like most of PCAPP's employee-led teams, safety is the goal, said Ben Hendricks, an instrumentation and controls technician who serves as the team's chair.
"The mission of the CAST is to promote efficiency and maximize safety for all personnel involved in agent area entries," said Hendricks.
The team meets monthly to watch videotaped entries to evaluate performance and determine better, more efficient and safer ways to perform an entry. We discuss what went well and things that can be improved, said Aaron Miller, a control room operator who serves as chairman for the alpha team.
As a result of the meetings, potential trip and snag hazards for employees in protective suits have been identified, as well as locations in the plant that could cause damage to Demilitarization Protective Ensemble breathing hoses. Potential snag, pinch and scrape points have been noted for corrective action, said Hendricks.
"Any safety concern is taken seriously," Hendricks said. The team gives employees the ability to voice concerns and have the confidence that their concern will be heard.
Lessons learned are incorporated into subsequent entries, Miller said.
The destruction of the remaining two U.S. chemical weapons stockpiles, stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado and the Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky, is a function of the Department of Defense as mandated by law. PEO ACWA is aligned under the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs which is a key element of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. As a Program Executive Office, ACWA is attached to the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center for administrative support.
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Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives
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