2003: a year of milestones at the U.S. Army's Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

THIS IS A YEAR OF MAJOR MILEstones for the U.S. Army's Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (PBCDF) and its sytemization contractor, the Washington Demilitarization Company (WDC). PBCDF is located on the Pine Bluff Arsenal, about 35 miles south of Little Rock.

WDC is under contract to build, test, operate, and eventually decommission PBCDF for the Army. The company completed construction of the $500-millionplus facility in November 2002, and now is well into a 16-month testing, or "systemization," phase leading to actual destruction of chemical agents in April 2004.

Liquid Incinerator

A first key milestone occurred Feb. 7, when WDC started the first of PBCDF's three principal components, the Liquid Incinerator (LIC).

As its name implies, the LIC is designed to safely destroy the liquid chemical agent components of stockpiled rockets, mines, and other containers via high-temperature incineration. It has a designed operating temperature of 2,700 degrees F.

PBCDF also features two other state-of-the-art incinerators, the Deactivation Furnace System and the Metal Parts Furnace.

Deactivation Furnace System

The Deactivation Furnace System (DFS) was started for testing on April 24. It eventually will destroy residual chemical agent and energetic materials removed from rockets and mines via high-temperature incineration.

The DFS is a large, state-of-the-art, highly efficient, rotary kiln furnace with a designed operating temperature of between 1,050 and 1,100 degrees F.

Metal Parts Furnace

On Aug. 14, PBCDF started its Metal Parts Furnace System (MPF) for testing. The MPF is a gas-fired furnace with three separate burning zones and a designed operating temperature of 1,400 degrees F. It will destroy any residual chemical agent that remains on metal components of chemical weapons and containers after they have been emptied and processed in other systems at PBCDE The MPF also will be used to process secondary waste streams produced during operations of the PBCDF.

Surrogate Test Burns

Another key facet of the systemization the Air Division; Martin Maner, Chief of the Water Division; and Mary Leath, Chief Deputy Director. Other speakers and topics include Steve Brown, Executive Director of the Environmental Council of the States, on state budgets for environmental programs and Dr. gent Thornton of FTN Associates, Ltd., discussing the recently released federal "The State of the Environment Report."

Breakout sessions will include a panel on "Hazardous Material Transportation and Plant Security in the Post 9-11 Era," "Stormwater Permitting," "Spill Prevention Control & Countermeasures," and "Start-up, Maintenance & Malfunction Planning." Speakers in these sessions include Robert Johns of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, Steve Mason of EPA Region 6, Scotty McKnight of the Arkansas Manufacturers Extension Network/ Sebastian (County LEPC, Tay Rucker of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Mel Keener of the Coalition for Responsible Waste Incineration, Brace Shackleford of Environmental Consulting Operations, Doug Ford of Pollution Management Inc., Jeff Spillyards of Entergy, and Mark Allison of Dover, Dixon, Home, PLLC. In addition to the educational sessions, the convention features the largest environmental trade show held annually in Arkansas, as well as a golf tournament that raises funds for AEF education projects.

Founded in 1967, the AEF is a 501c(3) non-profit education association with more than 350 members, the vast majority of them businesses and industries that deal with environmental, safety, and health regulations on a day-to-day basis. The AEF focuses on practical laws and regulations based on sound science, a teamwork approach to compliance, and waste minimization and pollution prevention. The AEF enables information to be exchanged on a daily basis between its members, government regulators, and policy makers. To register, visit the AEF's registration desk on-site at the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21. To download an agenda and registration information, visit the AEF's Web site at environmentark.org.