Operator at GB facilities sits at control panel which^ is used in connection with munition loading production line
This munitions loading room when completed will be air-tight and all operations handled from control room where photograph was made
Vitro Builds N e r v e Gas Plants Cholinesterase inhibitors made at Rocky Mountain Arsenal under strictest safety precautions to prevent leaks TVJERVE
GASES,
or
G-gases,
are
the
-*-^ newest group of the war gases; they have never been used in combat. Chemically they are a group of organic esters of phosphoric acid derivatives. Because of their volatility and toxicity they are among the most potent of the known chemical warfare agents. Nerve gas acts on humans in much the same way that insecticides such as parathion work on bugs. In fact nerve gas was discovered in the thirties by German researchers seeking a new insecticide. The facilities necessary to produce the GB nerve gas (the Chemical Corps' terse way of referring to "German Nerve Gas, Type B") were designed and engineered b y Vitro Corp. of America in collaboration with the Army Chemical Corps. Started more than three years ago, the installation near Denver now consists of seven primary buildings of steel frame and poured concrete. They were built at a total cost of more than $50 million on a tract of 310 acres. The arsenal itself was built in 1942 on 20,000 acres of sprawling farmlands 25 miles northeast of Denver at a cost of $62 million. Some buildings of the arsenal are now leased to private industry—including the Julius Hyman Division of Shell Chemical which makes agricultural chemicals there. I n addition to buildings for manufacture and munitions-loading of the GB end product, there are auxiliary facilities, including hospital and administration buildings, control labs, waste disposal facilities, and utilities. A feature of the installation by Vitro is a huge poured concrete building for 3492
blending chemical ingredients. It is said to be one of the largest buildings in the country using this type of con struction. Safety: Primary Feature. From the time planning started on the GB facility, safety was considered to be its most important feature. Every possibility of potential danger to the surrounding community was given careful study by government agencies and by industrial safety authorities. The plant has been designed in every detail to prevent leakage of GB. Operations within the plant are isolated from each other. The most dangerous operations have
several physical barriers between them and the outer shell of the building. The structure housing the process is of poured concrete, windowless construction. Within the building, pressures are held at varying levels, the lowest air pressure where danger is greatest. As a result, air flow is from the outside in. All air leaving the blending building passes through a 200-foot stack after all dangerous chemicals have been removed. Practically every section of the buildings has been designed to be a complete unit, so controlled that if anything went wrong it could be sealed off automatically from the other parts. Special decontamination procedures and facilities have been provided and all possible safeguards have been included in the design to make the plants leaktight. Multiple sources of power for utilities are available, so that in the event
Control panel which is used in chemical processing plant is more than 30 feet long
CHEMICAL
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
This poured-con- E^ c r e t e c h e m i c a l FM*W«f^v*$> processing plant is one of the largest using this type of construction. Raw materials are stored in glasslined tanks in right foreground. All air leaving the blending building is exhausted through the 200foot stack in left background
^/V*1-
- •**. •^XyxaQj. ;\r mzm J.; of failure of one source, a switch-over can b e made rapidly to an auxiliary one. Continual check is m a d e of all safety devices. As the Army puts it, it has safety gadgets to protect the safety gadgets. Design Problems Unique. Research and development problems necessary to design the GB plant were of a unique type in many instances. Because the nerve gas is so toxic, Vitro had to develop leak-tight techniques far beyond any previous requirements. In addition, all operations h a d to be regulated This dehydration unit is near the administration building seen at left
VOLUME
32,
NO.
36
•
by remote control through automatic and extremely accurate controls and instruments. Protection devices h a d to be designed to give foolproof warnings and alarms in case of trouble or breakdowns. Design of chemical processing facilities to be used in production of nerve gas constituents cause unusual problems because t h e materials are highly corrosive and highly toxic. Vitro had to develop entirely new welding techniques, for instance, for some of the high alloy metals which had to b e used in construction. Production of the gas is regulated entirely b y automatic and remote control from elaborate panels and switchboards. Automatic instruments were developed and designed by Vitro for the continual detection and measurement of micro quantities of the gas. These instruments, called Microsensors, are designed to sound alarms, shut down production, and seal off the offending unit b y automatic action whenever t h e gas exceeds a concentration of a fraction of a part per million in the surrounding atmosphere. These warning devices are supplemented b y canaries and rabbits which are quite sensitive t o t h e agent and give additional warning t o workers by their reaction. To date, safety precautions have paid off handsomely. By virtue of the cell type of construction i n the plant, it is seldom necessary for workers t o enter the area where the process is being conducted. When required to do so, workers are uniformed in rubber suits and masks which furnish complete protection. Men work in
SEPTEMBER
6.
1954
pairs when entering the danger zone s o that they can assist each other should any accident occur. The gas is loaded into munitions by specially designed machines which fill, cap, seal, wash, dry, and inspect the containers, all b y automatic control from remote distances. Hundreds of subcontractors and suppliers were engaged for construction of the GB facilities. Largest of these was U t a h Construction of San Francisco, which was responsible for actual building of the facilities under subcontract to Vitro. The munitions loading building stretches about 600 feet through the GB area
3493
