Process Equipment, Mothballing

The term mothballed in a general sense means a section of a unit or process has been out of use for an extended period of time. Some organizations use a specified period of time ranging from 2 weeks to 6 months as determined by the nature of their process. Here is where the scheduling consideration varies by the processes involved. The methods for properly mothballing (also called laying-up ) process equipment can be very different. 

Similarly, plant personnel are highly trained and experienced in the particular chemical demilitarization operations, which makes it impractical to mothball or decommission a facility until after its mission is completed satisfactorily. Even at that point, some of the facility equipment and well-trained personnel will still be needed for closure activities to clean and remove all contaminated parts of the facility. Delays in processing not only increase program costs but also prolong the risk to the public of exposure to the aging stockpile. 

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