"Parsons is commended for their efforts to bring the NECDF to a point of being ready to begin VX agent destruction, including thorough completion of operational readiness verification, personnel certification, and commitment to safe operations." Jeff Brubaker, Army Site Project Manager
Project Description
The Newport Chemical Depot is one of eight military installations in the United States that maintains chemical weapon stockpiles. In 1999, the Army selected Parsons to design, build, operate, and close the VX nerve agent production facility and destroy the chemical weapons stockpile.
The events of September 11, 2001, prompted the Army to accelerate its schedule at Newport. Parsons responded by fast-tracking the design-build efforts. To ensure compliance and optimize safety of the accelerated project, Parsons prepared a System Safety Implementation Plan. Construction was completed in 2003, with more than 3.5 million man-hours expended without a lost-time accident.
A specially designed device that transports the VX to the on-site neutralization facility was developed by Parsons at its fabrication facility in Pasco, Washington. The TOX cubicles, which house the reactors that destroy the VX, will be completed in record time by designing, fabricating, and testing them in the Pasco fabrication facility.
Parsons successfully launched a Demonstration of Safe Operations in mid-2004, which led to the issuance of a Notice of Operational Readiness on September 24, 2004. The facility officially began operations in May 2005.
| 
