“The Helium Recovery dealers test is a vital part of our ability to quickly contain a leaking chemical munition,” said Jeffrey K. Angel, surveillance ammunition inspector for the Blue Grass Chemical Activity .“Our quarterly tests ensure we have an SRC ready for use at all times in the rare event that a leaker occurs,” he said. “A successful helium test lets us know that the SRC will contain the agent when we place the leaking round into it. We call this process overpacking.”
BGCA, located at Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky, stores more than 101,000 chemical filled munitions in 45 storage buildings called igloos. These include M55 rockets, 155 mm projectiles and rocket warheads. The chemical weapons at the depot were received as far back as 1944, and consist of the blister agent mustard and nerve agents sarin and VX.
Most munitions are stored without incident, however there are rare occasions when a munition will leak a vapor or liquid in storage. When this occurs, the leaking munition must be isolated and placed in an SRC to contain the leak, then moved to an igloo dedicated to storage of overpacked rounds. This helps to ensure the safety of the workers, community and environment.“We do not have many rejected SRCs,” said Angel. “If one does fail multiple tests, we take it out of rotation and call the Chemical Materials Activity for disposition instructions. Many times they will leave it here. We paint it blue and use it as a training tool for the Helium Purifier for Sale crews to practice conducting overpack operations.”