News

802nd MXSS safeguards Robins missions

  • Published
  • By Holly Birchfield
  • 78 ABW/PA
Robins Air Force Base, GA --  The 802nd Maintenance Support Squadron's Chemical Analysis Flight puts Robins' mission to the test nearly every day.

The flight conducts a broad range of chemical and physical tests and analyses for a myriad of customers, including Warner Robins Air Logistics Center organizations, associate units and off-base customers.

Tom Yentzer, Chemical Analysis Flight director, said his staff of nine chemists, five physical science and engineering technicians, one mechanical engineer and a metallurgist, do what they can to identify any chemical that could prove harmful to aircraft parts, fuel or any other items that could impact the warfighting mission.

"We test many different materials for different chemical properties for a lot of different customers," he said.

Mr. Yentzer said one example is how lab professionals test the 402nd Commodities Maintenance Group's Plating Shop processes and chemicals used in electrolytic, plating, and etching processes.

"We test metal bond production test samples that they send to us," he said. "We conduct certification testing of their products, as well as their technicians that create their products."

Mr. Yentzer said such testing can prevent the need for aircraft part repairs in the future.

"We literally conduct thousands of chemical and physical tests and analyses annually for a broad range of Center, on-base and off-base customers," he said.

Not every test is the same however.

Mike Butts, a chemist in the flight, said his approach for testing varies from chemical to chemical.

"One of the test workloads I have is to perform shelf life testing on paints, adhesives and sealants," he said. "We evaluate the containers the material is in to ensure the material is stored properly in the right type of containers. We check the material itself to make sure it's still in good condition. We make sure it hasn't separated or congealed or cured."

Mr. Butts said he then performs a cure test on the material to evaluate its form, fit and function.

Phyllis Slivka, a chemist in the lab, said chemists test a broad spectrum of chemicals in the Shelf Life Program.

"We get adhesive fields and paints from 12 base customers and four off-base customers," she said. "We test their products to make sure of what the expiration date is. If the product is still good, then we can extend the expiration date and the product can be sent back into the inventory and it doesn't have to be disposed."

Mrs. Slivka said the lab saved an estimated $1.1 million through this testing in fiscal 2008.

Della Smith, a chemist in the lab, said environmental analysis and testing for the First Article Program are also parts of the lab's battery of tests.

"We have different instrumentation that we use," she said. "We'll test liquid hazardous waste, solid materials like rags from drums. There is also polychlorinated biphenyls and those items are usually in refrigerants and oils."

Ms. Smith said environmental testing also includes evaluating asbestos samples provided by Robins civil engineering workers.

Chemists also perform Trace Metal Analysis on hazardous waste as well as other testing, Ms. Smith said.

Laura Abbott, a chemist in the 802nd MXSS, said the lab even tests fuel to eliminate threats to aircraft.

"The most common thing we do is test for particulate matter that may be in the fuel incoming to the base or from what they have removed from a plane and are putting back into a plane after they've performed program depot maintenance and prior to a functional check flight."

Ms. Abbott said part of her job is to conduct process checks on solutions the 402nd CMXG uses in its plating shop.

"We check to make sure the different tanks they're using are at levels they're supposed to be," she said. "We make sure there's enough of whatever chemical that needs to be in there."

Ms. Abbott said the lab even tests the unknown.

"If they have an unknown or they want something identified, we have the resources where we can analyze that on certain instrumentation or we can do it in a laboratory with wet chemistry," she said.

Of course, these are just a few of the analyses the lab conducts all in the name of protecting resources, both environmental and mission essential.

Ms. Smith said the lab's job is one that's important to sustaining Robins' missions.

"One of the primary things we provide is quality control," she said. "They want to know if certain products, certain items produced or materials they receive in are within Air Force specifications, and if they're not, it could be the wrong part for a plane. It could hurt not only our mission of supporting the maintenance depot, but supporting the warfighter, supporting the Air Force, and protecting our homeland."