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Extensive training adds up to safety at ABCDF

Winter 2003 Training covers all aspects of disposal process

U.S. Army

Program 

Manager 

for Chemical 

Demilitarization

Edgewood 

Chemical Stockpile 

Outreach Offi ce

1011 B Woodbridge 

Center Way

Edgewood, MD 21040

(410) 676-6800

Outreach Offi ce Hours

Monday–Friday

8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.

Other hours by appointment

U.S. Army 

Aberdeen 

Chemical Agent 

Disposal Facility 

Public Affairs Offi ce

(410) 436-5253

Bechtel Aberdeen 

Public Outreach Offi ce

(410) 436-9507

Reach Highlighting

the U.S. Army’s

Chemical 

Demilitarization 

Program

Edgewood

Neutralization of the mustard agent stockpile is 

scheduled to begin soon, but training for the team 

that will work at the Aberdeen Chemical Agent 

Disposal Facility started months ago.

“We were fortunate to start with a knowledgeable 

workforce,” said Rick Holmes, the deputy project 

manager for Bechtel Aberdeen, the company 

responsible for constructing and operating the 

neutralization facility, where more than 1,600 

tons of WWII-era mustard agent soon will be 

destroyed. “On top of that, we have created 

more than 90 training courses, so our employees 

understand not only what the neutralization 

process does, but why. Our target is to have an 

employee who is inquisitive, so he or she goes to 

work and makes educated decisions.”

Many of the team members hired for the project 

have worked in chemical demilitarization projects 

elsewhere, worked at nuclear facilities, or have 

military experience. Others have backgrounds 

in commercial industries, hazardous waste 

or manufacturing.

“We require everyone we hire to come to the 

project with certain skills and knowledge,” 

Holmes said. “Next, we provide them with 

the training to give them extra information 

to perform their jobs safely. We are gaining 

tremendous momentum, and by the time we 

begin neutralization, this workforce will have 

earned the right to start.”

During the classes, which can run from one 

to 40 hours long, employees study job-specifi c 

information, such as draining the ton containers, 

laboratory operations or maintenance. In addition, 

overview classes cover plant operation, respiratory 

protection, environmental requirements, security 

and safety. Plus, everyone who will have access to 

the site must pass fi rst aid and CPR training, a 

plan that will pay off for the community.

“The training program also benefi ts the 

community,” Holmes said, “because it includes 

fi rst aid and CPR qualifi cation. Our operators, 

who are also your neighbors, are better prepared 

as a result of their training should an emergency 

occur anywhere.” 

“Team members who complete the classroom 

training are considered qualifi ed, but anyone who 

works near the mustard agent must be certifi ed 

as well,” said Dave Ziegler, Bechtel Aberdeen’s 

training manager for the facility.

“Becoming qualifi ed is knowledge-based. 

Certifi cation is when we say, ‘Show me,’” said 

Ziegler, whose parent company, General Physics, 

is writing and managing the training. “You could 

tell me how to kick a fi eld goal, but doing it is 

something else. We have to ensure the workers 

know how to do the job and are capable of 

doing it.”

Ziegler added that each employee has a training 

path to follow to prepare for working at the 

ABCDF.

“No matter where you work, whether you’re a 

doctor or a drain station operator or an offi ce 

administrator, you have a training path set for 

you,” Ziegler said. “We’re going to make sure 

everyone stays on the right path.”

Once neutralization begins, four teams will work 

12-hour shifts around the clock to destroy the 

stockpile, a process that is expected to take six 

months. Team members can go to work with 

confi dence, knowing their co-workers have 

received the same extensive training.

http://www.pmcd.army.mil

Photo by Dan Pardoe

Dave Sandau, an emergency response planner and 

trainer, explains how to use a pipe patching kit 

during the 40-hour HAZMAT Response Class at the 

Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. The 

majority of the shift workers at the ABCDF will be 

trained in hazardous materials response, for both 

industrial chemical and chemical agent spills.
2

“If we worry 

excessively about 

small risks, we 

may ignore issues 

far more likely 

to harm our 

families.”

—Dr. John Paling, 

Renowned speaker 

on hazards and risks

Dr. John Paling took many risks when he came to 

Aberdeen Proving Ground in early October. He 

fl ew on a plane. He drove a car. He walked across a 

parking lot.

As he will tell you, technically, all of these activities 

are risks. But Paling’s perspective is that people 

must consider the amount of risk before they 

start worrying.

“All of us, even those in the Army, even people 

like me who do this for a living, tend to have an 

emotional response when faced with a risk,” he said 

to an audience at the Edgewood Area of APG Oct. 9. 

“It’s impossible to live life without risk. But, you can 

learn to judge how much of a hazard a risk really is.”

He charts those hazards on “The Paling Perspective 

Scale,” which ranks the amount of risk involved in 

daily activities.

“There is an element of risk that we are ‘at home’ 

with,” he said, noting that the range tends to group 

around the 1 in 100,000 range, just above what he 

calls “effective zero” – a one in a million chance of 

something occurring.

“If we worry excessively about small risks, we may 

ignore issues far more likely to harm our families,” 

he said.

Paling spoke not only with government employees 

and contractors, but also local students and senior 

citizens during his three-day visit to Maryland, a total 

of more than 700 people. On Oct. 10, he traveled to 

Kent County to discuss his philosophy with members 

of the Kent County Local Emergency Planning 

Council, emergency responders and government 

department heads. Later that day, he spoke with 

residents of the Heron Point Retirement Community.

Sally Breul, a resident of Heron Point and an active 

participant in meetings related to the destruction 

of the chemical stockpile at APG, said the doctor 

discussed the statistics of risk in a new way.

“I remember him saying that the risks of being 

injured due to an accident at the chemical stockpile 

are miniscule compared to the risks of being injured 

in an auto accident,” she said. “But in between the 

statistics, he had puzzles that made you think, and 

I think people enjoyed that. He’s an entertaining 

speaker and he certainly knows his topic.”

The author of the book Up to Your Armpits in 

Alligators, Paling currently is working on a book, 

Medics are from Mars: Patients are from Pluto, which 

explores communication between doctors and 

patients. As a former biology professor at Oxford 

University in England, University of California, Santa 

Cruz and the University of Florida at Gainesville, 

now his home, he also has produced Emmy awardwinning wildlife programs for National Geographic.

His wildlife fi lm experience, combined with video 

of his real-life, sometimes unintentional encounters 

with alligators, kept children entertained at two of 

Edgewood’s elementary schools. Paling used yards 

of old fi lm footage throughout his presentation 

to demonstrate the amount of time, effort and 

perseverance it takes to get the “perfect shot” for his 

documentaries. His talks to younger children focused 

on setting and achieving goals and believing in 

oneself. One account featured a tiny, spiky fi sh, eaten 

by a larger fi sh that was unable to swallow it. That 

fi sh, in turn, was eaten by a pike, which wound up 

spitting out both. 

“The moral of the story,” Paling told the students, 

“is never give up.”

For older audiences, he lightened the mood with his 

talk on “dihydrogen monoxide,” or DHMO, which 

he characterized in vivid, alarmist terminology as 

“a colorless, odorless liquid that may cause severe 

Photo by Nancy Hofmann

Risk Perspectives expert and National Geographic 

fi lmmaker Dr. John Paling, left, talks with Edgewood 

Elementary School fourth-grade student Andy Medina 

about the importance of learning from experience 

and never giving up on one’s goals, as fellow students 

Matthew Miller and Danielle Hensley look on.

Putting risks into perspective

Dr. Paling explains how people accept hazards as part of life

Continued on page 4
3

Bechtel Aberdeen, the contractor constructing 

the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, 

celebrated the 227th birthday of the Marine Corps 

during a ceremony on Nov. 7.

“Bud and Sandy Smith have organized this event for 

the past four years here at Bechtel Aberdeen,” said 

retired Marine Jeff “Gunny” Evans of the event.

Participating were SSgt. Tim Pagud, SSgt. Jerry 

Garner, and Sgt. Dan Jones of the Marine Corps 

Recruiting Offi ce in Bel Air, who read a birthday 

message from the Commandant of the Marine 

Corps. The Cake Cutting Ceremony followed, 

during which the guest of honor, Lee Smith, Bechtel 

Aberdeen project manager for the ABCDF and a 

25-year Army veteran, received the fi rst piece. The 

second piece was given to the oldest Marine present, 

Jim Garner, who then passed it to the youngest 

Marine present, Michael Becker.

“The passing of the second piece of cake to the 

youngest Marine emphasizes the fact that we care for 

our young Marines before we take care of our own 

needs,” Evans said.

Bud and Sandy Smith were presented with a plaque 

and sweatshirts printed with the Marine Corps seal 

and the words “Marine Corps Families – The Few, 

The Proud.” They began the event simply four years 

ago, baking a cake and bringing it to work. The 

event has grown, with assistance provided this year 

by Evans and Leah Usmari, a former Marine whose 

parents and grandfather were in the Marine Corps.

The Smith’s son, Capt. Stephen Smith, is a Marine 

Corps fl ight instructor stationed in Kingsville, Texas.

“My husband was in the Navy, but we’re a Marine 

Corps family because of our son,” said Sandy Smith. 

“When you’re part of the Marine Corps family, you 

know when the Marine Corps birthday is coming 

up. It’s an important tradition.”

Other ABCDF employees attending the ceremony 

included former Marines Jimmy Willman, Archie 

Hardy, Tom Norstrand, Russ Haggerty, Darryl 

Rouse, Ralph Williams and Louis Armstrong; Army 

veterans Rick Holmes and Doug Omichinski; Bechtel 

Aberdeen employee Seeta Parsram, whose sister is in 

the Marine Corps; and John and Chris Druyor and 

their father, Dale Druyor from the Program Manager 

for Chemical Demilitarization, a former Marine.

ABCDF celebrates Marine Corps’ birthday

Photo by Doug Novin

Guest of honor Lee Smith prepares to receive the 

fi rst slice of cake during a ceremony marking the 

227th birthday of the Marine Corps. Smith, who 

served 25 years in the Army, is project manager for 

Bechtel Aberdeen, the company that will operate the 

neutralization facility that will dispose of more than 

1,600 tons of mustard agent stored at APG.

Spreading the word

Sandra Clawson-Freeo of the Army’s Program Manager 

for Chemical Demilitarization Public Outreach and 

Information Offi ce, explains the Army’s mission to 

dispose of the nation’s chemical stockpile to one 

of several hundred individuals who visited PMCD’s 

information booth during the Association of the 

U.S. Army’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. 

Thousands of military, civilian and industry leaders 

attended the October 2002 event, themed “Realizing 

the Army Vision.”

Photo by Nancy Hofmann

“Realizing the 

Army Vision” at AUSA

“When you’re 

part of the 

Marine Corps 

family, you know 

when the Marine 

Corps birthday 

is coming up. It’s 

an important 

tradition.”

—Sandy Smith, 

Marine Corps parent
 ce Edgewood Chemical Stockpile Outreach Offi

1011 B Woodbridge Center Way

Edgewood, MD 21040

Reach

Continued from page 2

Speaker discusses how people deal with everyday risks

Photo by Nancy Hofmann

Heron Point residents discuss the importance 

of being able to put risks into perspective with 

Bechtel Aberdeen Public Outreach Manager Miguel 

Monteverde, following Dr. Paling’s presentation on 

Oct. 10. 

burns, is a major component of acid rain, and 

may cause death by decreased effectiveness in 

automobile brakes.”

“DHMO should be handled with extreme care!” 

he cautioned the audience at the Edgewood Senior 

Center, fi nally conceding when their chuckling told 

him they had discovered his secret. “Dihydrogen 

monoxide, as the name implies, is H2

O — just plain 

old tap water.”

“This shows you how the presentation of 

information can affect how we perceive risk,” he said. 

Whether you choose risky behavior, or want to know 

if your daily activities are hazards to worry about, 

Paling’s lessons on putting risks into perspective can 

be applied to daily life. 

(For more information about Dr. Paling’s work and a 

copy of The Paling Perspective Scale, see his website at 

www.johnpaling.com.)

“It’s impossible to 

live life without 

risk. But, you can 

learn to judge 

how much of 

a hazard a risk 

really is.”

—Dr. John Paling, 

Renowned speaker 

on hazards and risks