Workers at the Blue Grass plant are turning an extended equipment outage into another opportunity to refresh their proficiencies and reinforce safety standards.
“This downtime allows us not only to complete essential maintenance but also to step back and re-engage with skills and safety protocols for even the most routine tasks,” said Brian McKay, safety manager, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass, or BPBG. “For example, moving pallets of containerized rocket warheads is a regular part of our operations, but familiarity can lead to complacency. By revisiting these tasks through focused training, we ensure that when work resumes, employees approach them with renewed attention and precision.”
In November, the Static Detonation Chamber, or SDC, 1200 was shut down to replace its worn-out fragmentation shield. During the outage, workers are continuing other maintenance activities. Training and safety remain an important part of the process.
“For instance, when they return for a new shift after their days off, teams start with ‘welcome back’ sessions to review not only their tasks but also safety items,” McKay said. “Workers are also undergoing renewed hazardous materials training.”
Proficiency activities such as loader-system operations provide important benefits, said Rusty Davis, SDC 1200 deputy plant manager, BPBG.
“One is to keep that proficiency with the crews and then making sure the loader system has no other issues we need to tackle so that as we get back into operations, we’re not fighting loader-system problems,” Davis said.
BGCAPP continually evaluates its safety framework and has recently revised its Life Critical Requirements. The updates, which focus on the changing nature of work as the project moves deeper into closure, address everything from risks associated with working at heights to mitigating hazards when operating near moving objects.
The new requirements are reviewed during toolbox talks, on-site and computer-based training, and project meetings. Supervisors, safety managers and industrial hygiene personnel are making sure workers understand the changes, McKay said.
Closure has been ongoing at the Blue Grass plant since the last chemical weapon was destroyed in July 2023 and is expected to conclude in 2027. In addition to the decontamination, decommissioning and demolition of the main plant, a key part of those activities is destruction of agent-contaminated secondary waste, including drained containerized rocket warheads, or CRWs, in the SDC units.
