Blue Grass Army Depot
| Joint Munitions Command (JMC) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 2003 - present |
| Country | United States |
| Type | Major Subordinate Command of the United States Army Materiel Command (AMC) |
| Role | Operate a nationwide network of facilities where conventional ammunition is produced and stored. |
| Size | Employs 20 military, over 5800 civilians and 8300 contractor personnel |
| Colors | red, yellow, white, black, blue |
| Website | www.jmc.army.mil |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Brigadier General Larry Wyche |
Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) is a U.S. Army conventional munitions and chemical weapon storage facility located in east central Kentucky, southeast of the cities of Lexington and Richmond, Kentucky, operated by the United States Army. The 14,494-acre (58.66 km2) site, composed mainly of open fields and wooded areas, is used for munitions storage, repair of general supplies, and the disposal of munitions. The installation is used for the storage of conventional explosive munitions as well as assembled chemical weapons. The depot primarily is involved in industrial and related activities associated with the storage and maintenance of conventional and chemical munitions.[1][2]
The tenant organization, Blue Grass Chemical Activity, is responsible for the chemical weapons stored at BGAD. BGCA is part of the Army's Chemical Materiels Activity, headquartered in Edgewood, Maryland. The demilitarization of the chemical weapons is the responsibility of a third organization, ACWA.
BGAD provides munitions, chemical defense equipment, and ammunition support to the joint warfighter. It is the Department of Defense’s primary center for surveillance, receipt, storage, issue, testing and minor repair for the Chemical Defense Equipment Program. BGAD maintains and supports CDE stocks for deploying units and homeland defense forces, and is a training site for reserve component and other deploying units.
Contents |
[edit] Capabilities
Capabilities include: industrial services support; ammunition maintenance, renovation, disassembly and demilitarization; thermal arc coating for Air Force bombs; water washout facility with flaker belt; Molten Salt Research and Development Facility; ultrasonic testing for mortar ammunition; Chemical Material Surveillance Program; quality assurance and joint logistics support; and ammunition life cycle management. The depot also serves as a large training ground for service members.
[edit] History
BGAD was established in 1941 and began operations in 1942 as an ammunition and general supply storage depot, Blue Grass Ordnance Depot. In 1964, it merged with the Lexington Signal Depot, Avon, Kentucky, to became the Lexington-Blue Grass Army Depot. The Lexington facility was selected for closure under BRAC (Base Realignment And Closure); after it closed in September 1999, the remaining facility received its current designation.
[edit] Facilities
BGAD is housed on 14,594 acres (59.06 km2)with 1,153 buildings, 902 igloos and storage capacity of 3,233,598 square feet (300,000 m2). In 2010 BGAD started manufactures Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles for military service members. BGAD also manufactures combat lock tools which is a multi-purpose key that allows war fighters access to MRAPs other than their own in the case of an emergency.
[edit] BRAC 2005
BGAD will be gaining the maintenance workload from Red River Munitions Center, which is closing under Base Realignment and Closure 2005.
[edit] Environmental
BGAD is currently working with state and federal regulators on environmental remediation. The installation is in compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations.
[edit] Chemical Weapons Destruction
BGAD stores a small stockpile of chemical agents, comprising 523 tons of nerve agents GB (sarin) and VX, and mustard gas, or about two percent of the United States chemical weapons stockpile.
Beginning in 2003, destruction of the Blue Grass chemical weapons stockpile, in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Treaty, was contracted out using a technology known as neutralization followed by supercritical water oxidation. This is a different method than the incineration that is used at the larger stockpiles.
Groundbreaking for the chemical destruction facility took place on October 28, 2006. Final design of the facilities should be complete in 2010 and actual construction in 2018, after which destruction of the weapons will begin.
[edit] Chemical Leaks
Between July 25 and August 6, 2008 two leaks of mustard gas occurred at the facility. The depot stated that the leaks were of low concentration and posed no harm.[3] Sarin Gas leaks were also confirmed 12 July 2008.[4] A previous sarin leakage incident was reported as occurring at 3:49 p.m. on Aug. 27, 2007.[5]
[edit] References
- "The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (CMA) - Kentucky". U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency. 2004-07-28. http://www.cma.army.mil/state.aspx?state=Kentucky. Retrieved 2006-09-17.
- ^ "ACWA - Blue Grass - Chemical Weapons Disposal:". Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment Program. United States Department of Defense. 2006-07-25. http://www.pmacwa.army.mil/ky/cw_disposal_ky.htm. Retrieved 2006-09-17.[dead link]
- ^ Montgomery, Jeff (2006-09-14). "DuPont may take on more weapons waste". Delaware Online (Delaware News-Journal). http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060914/NEWS/609140380/1006/NEWS. Retrieved 2006-09-17.[dead link]
[edit] External links
- Joint Munitions Command website
- Some information compiled from [1]
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This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "[2]".
Coordinates: 37°40′48″N 84°14′54″W / 37.679993°N 84.248229°W
