Pine Bluff Assignments

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Pine Bluff Chemical Demilitarization Facility (PBCDF) is a multi-year effort under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Industrial Operations Command. PBCDF team members will be assigned to the Department of Chemical Demilitarization, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI).

The chemical warfare stockpile at Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas, has been declared obsolete because of age and condition. The U.S. Congress directed the U.S. Army to demilitarize munitions and storage tanks filled with nerve and blister agents through environmentally safe techniques. SwRI PBCDF team will conduct ambient-air and stationary source sampling, analyze air pollutants, conduct analytical chemistry tests, and maintain chemical-agent monitoring systems in support of the U.S. Army’s program. The prime contractor, Raytheon Demilitarization Company, is responsible for operating and maintaining the demilitarization plant. These activities performed by SwRI PBCDF team will ensure the protection of workers and the public during the proper and safe disposal of chemical warfare agents.

The Institute has performed a similar role since 1987 on Johnston Island in the Pacific with the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Demilitarization System (JACADS)--the world's first full-scale chemical weapons destruction facility. JACADS personnel provide continuous monitoring, sampling, and chemical analysis services during the incineration of aging weapons stored on the island, an operation which is overseen by the Army and several federal agencies. The JACADS facility has destroyed more than 2.5 million pounds of chemical agents during the past six years, and its employees have worked more than two million hours without a lost-time accident.

For current job openings in this field, check the Careers at SwRI web site.

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November 06, 2009