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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This is a report of work supported by Contract DAAD19-01-C-0001 between the U.S. Army and the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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COMMITTEE ON REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF THE ARMY CHEMICAL STOCKPILE DISPOSAL PROGRAM
PETER B.LEDERMAN, Chair,
New Jersey Institute of Technology (retired), Newark
CHARLES I.McGINNIS, Vice Chair, Consultant,
Charlottesville, Virginia
DAVID H.ARCHER,
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
PIERO M.ARMENANTE,
New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark
JERRY L.R.CHANDLER,
George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
JOHN J.COSTOLNICK,
Exxon Chemical Company (retired), Houston, Texas
FRANK P.CRIMI,
Lockheed Martin (retired), Saratoga, California
MICHAEL R.GREENBERG,
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick
DEBORAH L.GRUBBE,
DuPont Company, Wilmington, Delaware
DAVID A.HOECKE,
Enercon Systems, Inc., Elyria, Ohio
DAVID H.JOHNSON,
ABS Consulting, Irvine, California
GARY L.LAGE,
ToxiLogics, Inc., Titusville, New Jersey
JAMES F.MATHIS,
Exxon Corporation (retired), Houston, Texas
FREDERICK G.POHLAND,
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
ROBERT B.PUYEAR, Consultant,
Chesterfield, Missouri
CHARLES F.REINHARDT,
DuPont Company (retired), Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania
KENNETH F.REINSCHMIDT, Consultant,
Littleton, Massachusetts
W.LEIGH SHORT,
URS Greiner Woodward-Clyde (retired), Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
JEFFREY I.STEINFELD,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
CHADWICK A.TOLMAN,
National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
Board on Army Science and Technology Liaison
RICHARD A.CONWAY,
Union Carbide Corporation (retired), Charleston, West Virginia
Staff
DONALD L.SIEBENALER, Study Director
HARRISON T.PANNELLA, Program Officer
DANIEL E.J.TALMAGE, JR., Research Associate
JEFFREY L.CHATELLIER, Senior Project Assistant
BOARD ON ARMY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
WILLIAM H.FORSTER, Chair,
Northrop Grumman Corporation, Baltimore, Maryland
JOHN E.MILLER, Vice Chair,
Oracle Corporation, Reston, Virginia
ROBERT L.CATTOI,
Rockwell International (retired), Dallas, Texas
RICHARD A.CONWAY,
Union Carbide Corporation (retired), Charleston, West Virginia
GILBERT F.DECKER,
Walt Disney Imagineering, Glendale, California
PATRICK F.FLYNN,
Cummins Engine Company, Inc. (retired), Columbus, Indiana
HENRY J.HATCH, Chief of Engineers,
U.S. Army (retired), Oakton, Virginia
EDWARD J.HAUG,
University of Iowa, Iowa City
GERALD J.IAFRATE,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh
MIRIAM E.JOHN,
California Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California
DONALD R.KEITH,
Cypress International (retired), Alexandria, Virginia
CLARENCE W.KITCHENS,
IIT Research Institute, Alexandria, Virginia
KATHRYN V.LOGAN,
Georgia Institute of Technology (professor emerita), Roswell, Georgia
JOHN W.LYONS,
U.S. Army Research Laboratory (retired), Ellicott City, Maryland
JOHN H.MOXLEY III,
Korn/Ferry International, Los Angeles, California
STEWART D.PERSONICK,
Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
MILLARD F.ROSE,
Radiance Technologies, Huntsville, Alabama
GEORGE T.SINGLEY III,
Hicks and Associates, Inc., McLean, Virginia
CLARENCE G.THORNTON,
Army Research Laboratories (retired), Colts Neck, New Jersey
JOHN D.VENABLES,
Venables and Associates, Towson, Maryland
JOSEPH J.VERVIER,
ENSCO, Inc., Indiatlantic, Florida
Staff
BRUCE A.BRAUN, Director
MICHAEL A.CLARKE, Associate Director
WILLIAM E.CAMPBELL, Administrative Coordinator
CHRIS JONES, Financial Associate
GWEN ROBY, Administrative Assistant
DEANNA P.SPARGER, Senior Project Assistant
Preface
The United States has maintained a stockpile of chemical warfare agents and munitions since World War I. In 1985, Public Law 99–145 mandated the expeditious destruction of M55 rockets containing chemical agents because of the chance they might self-ignite. The program was soon expanded into the Army’s Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (CSDP), which was given the mission of disposing of the entire 31,496 tons of nerve and mustard agents in a chemical stockpile dispersed among nine storage sites, eight in the continental United States and one on Johnston Island (part of Johnston Atoll) in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii. The United States is a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty, which requires that the entire stockpile be destroyed by April 29, 2007.
The Army leadership has sought outside, unbiased advice on how best to dispose of the stockpile. In 1987, at the request of the Under Secretary of the Army, the National Research Council (NRC) established the Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (Stockpile Committee) to provide scientific and technical advice and counsel on the CSDP. The committee has since produced 25 full-length and letter reports covering the evolution of the CSDP from the design and construction of the first incineration-based chemical agent disposal facility on Johnston Island in 1990 to the present. The stockpile at Johnston Island has now been completely eliminated, and the facility there is entering its closure phase. A second incineration-based facility has been operating for more than four and one-half years at Tooele, Utah, adjacent to the largest stockpile site. Similar facilities are being constructed at Anniston, Alabama; Pine Bluff, Arkansas; and Umatilla, Oregon. Although details differ at the five sites, the basic technology is the same (the baseline incineration system). At two other sites—Aberdeen, Maryland, and Newport, Indiana—alternative technologies to incineration are being implemented. Facilities for the final two sites— Pueblo, Colorado, and Blue Grass, Kentucky—are in the technology selection process.
This report is concerned with the technology selection for the Pueblo site, where only munitions containing mustard agent are stored. The report assesses a modified baseline process, a slightly simplified version of the baseline incineration system that was used to dispose of mustard munitions on Johnston Island. A second NRC committee is reviewing two neutralization-based technologies for possible use at Pueblo. The evaluation in this report is intended to assist authorities making the selection. It should also help the public and other non-Army stakeholders understand the modified baseline process and make sound judgments about it.
The committee is grateful for the considerable assistance of the Office of the Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization and its contractors, which provided a great deal of useful information. The committee also greatly appreciates the assistance and contributions of NRC staff members Donald L.Siebenaler, Harrison T.Pannella, Daniel E.J. Talmage, Jr., and Carol R.Arenberg.
Peter B.Lederman, Chair
Charles I.McGinnis, Vice Chair
Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program
Acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
John H.Birely, independent consultant
Richard C.Dart, Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center
Harold B.Dellinger, Louisiana State University
Gene H.Dyer, consultant, Bechtel (retired)
Willard C.Gekler, independent consultant
J.Robert Gibson, DuPont Company
Todd A.Kimmell, Argonne National Laboratory
Charles E.Kolb, Aerodyne Research, Inc.
Kun-Chieh Lee, Union Carbide corporate fellow
Douglas M.Medville, MITRE (retired)
Kirk E.Newman, Naval Surface Warfare Center
William R.Rhyne, H&R Technical Associates, Inc.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Hyla S.Napadensky (NAE), Napadensky Energetics, Inc. (retired), appointed by the NRC’s Report Review Committee, who was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
List of Figures and Tables
FIGURES
3–1 |
Pueblo modified baseline process, |
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A–1 |
105-mm howitzer projectile, |
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A–2 |
155-mm howitzer projectile, |
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A–3 |
4.2-inch mortar cartridge, |
TABLES
2–1 |
Summary of 1992 Trial Burn Tests for the Treatment of HD Ton Containers in the MPF at JACADS, |
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2–2 |
Metal Emissions in 1992 Trial Burn Tests at JACADS on HD Ton Containers in the MPF, |
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2–3 |
Number of HD Items Destroyed at JACADS, |
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2–4 |
Results of the 1999 Trial Burn of Mustard-containing Projectiles at JACADS, |
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2–5 |
Comparison of Limits from the JACADS RCRA Permit and Results of 1992 and 1999 Trial Burns, |
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2–6 |
Comparison of Selected Emissions (including those exceeding permit limits) for JACADS Trial Burns, |
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3–1 |
Comparison of Major Features of the Baseline Incineration System and the Modified Baseline Process, |
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3–2 |
Summary of Materials to Be Processed in a Four-zone MPF at Pueblo, |
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3–3 |
MPF Design Throughput Rates for Processing Munitions, |
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4–1 |
Summary of Results of Phase 1 QRAs for Baseline Incineration Systems at Several Sites, |
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A–1 |
Pueblo Chemical Depot Munitions, |
Acronyms
ACAMS
automatic continuous air monitoring system
ACWA
Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment
BRA
brine reduction area
CAC
Citizens Advisory Commission
CDTF
Chemical Demilitarization Training Facility
CHB
container handling building
CII
Construction Industry Institute
CSDP
Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program
CSEPP
Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program
CWC
Chemical Weapons Convention
DAAMS
depot area air monitoring system
DFS
deactivation furnace system
DoD
U.S. Department of Defense
DPE
demilitarization protective ensemble
DPHE
Department of Public Health and Environment (Colorado)
DRE
destruction and removal efficiency
ECR
explosive containment room
EDS
explosive destruction system
EIS
environmental impact statement
EMC
emergency management coordinator
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
GB
a nerve agent
HD
distilled mustard: bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide
HEPA
high-efficiency particulate air
HRA
health risk assessment
HT
vesicant mixture: 60 percent bis(2-chloroethyl)-sulfide and 40 percent bis[2(2chloroethylthio)ethyl] ether
JACADS
Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System
LIC
liquid incinerator
MACT
maximum achievable control technology
MAV
modified ammunition van
MDB
munitions demilitarization building
MDM
multipurpose demilitarization machine
MPF
metal parts furnace
NEPA
National Environmental Policy Act
NOI
notice of intent
NRC
National Research Council
OMB
Office of Management and Budget
ONC
on-site container
OVT
operational verification testing
PAS
pollution abatement system
PCD
Pueblo Chemical Depot
PFS
PAS filter system
PIC
product of incomplete combustion
PMACWA
Program Manager for Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment
PMCD
Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization
PMD
projectile/mortar disassembly
PUCDF
Pueblo Chemical Agent Disposal Facility
QRA
quantitative risk assessment
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
SAIC
Science Applications International Corporation
SDS
spent decontamination solution
TOCDF
Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility
TSDF
treatment, storage, and disposal facility
VX
a nerve agent
WIP
work in progress
WIPT
working integrated project team
3X
The 3X decontamination level refers to solids decontaminated to the point that the agent concentration in the headspace above the encapsulated solid does not exceed the health-based, eight-hour, time-weighted average limit for worker exposure. The limit for HD is 3.0 μg per cubic meter of air. Materials classified as 3X may be handled by qualified plant workers using appropriate procedures but may not be released to the environment or sold for general public reuse. In specific cases in which approval has been granted, a 3X material may be shipped to an approved hazardous waste treatment facility for disposal in a landfill or for further treatment.
5X
The use of 5X indicates that an item has been decontaminated completely of the indicated agent and may be released for general use or sold to the general public in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations. An item is decontaminated completely when the item has been subjected to procedures that are known to completely degrade the agent molecule, or when analyses, submitted through Army channels for approval by the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board, have shown that the total quantity of agent is less than the minimal health effects dosage as determined by the Surgeon General. A 5X condition must be certified by the commander or designated representative. One approved method is heating the item to 538°C (1,000°F) for 15 minutes. This is considered sufficient to destroy chemical agent molecules.