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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the
Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction
Pilot Plants

Committee on Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and
Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants


Board on Army Science and Technology

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS   500 FIFTH STREET, NW   Washington, DC 20001

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 study was supported by Contract No. W911NF-11-C-0033 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Army. 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.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-25985-9
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-25985-1

Limited copies of this report are available from Board on Army Science and Technology, National Research Council, 500 fifth Street, NW, Room 940, Washington, DC 20001; (202) 334-3118.

Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.

Copyright 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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COMMITTEE ON ASSESSMENT OF AGENT MONITORING STRATEGIES
FOR THE BLUE GRASS AND PUEBLO CHEMICAL AGENT DESTRUCTION
PILOT PLANTS

CHARLES E. KOLB, Chair, Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts

JESSE L. BEAUCHAMP (NAS), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

ROBERT A. BEAUDET, University of Southern California, Pasadena

JOAN B. BERKOWITZ, Farkas Berkowitz and Company, Washington, D.C.

HAO CHEN, Ohio University, Athens

ADRIENNE T. COOPER, Florida Agricultural and Mechnical University, Tallahassee

FACUNDO M. FERNANDEZ, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta

ROBERT D. GIBBONS (IOM), University of Chicago

JOHN A. MCLEAN, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

MAX D. MORRIS, Iowa State University, Ames

DONALD W. MURPHY (NAE), Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies (retired), Davis, California

C. SHANE REESE, Brigham Young University, Mapleton, Utah

LORENZ R. RHOMBERG, Gradient, Cambridge, Massachusetts

ALBERT A. VIGGIANO, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico

Staff

HARRISON T. PANNELLA, Study Director

NIA D. JOHNSON, Senior Research Associate

ANN F. LARROW, Research Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
×

BOARD ON ARMY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

ALAN H. EPSTEIN, Chair, Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford, Connecticut

DAVID M. MADDOX, Vice Chair, Independent Consultant, Arlington, Virginia

DUANE ADAMS, Independent Consultant, Carnegie Mellon University (retired), Arlington, Virginia

ILESANMI ADESIDA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

MARY E. BOYCE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

EDWARD C. BRADY, Strategic Perspectives, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida

W. PETER CHERRY, Independent Consultant, Ann Arbor, Michigan

EARL H. DOWELL, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

JULIA D. ERDLEY, Pennsylvania State University, State College

LESTER A. FOSTER, Electronic Warfare Associates, Herndon, Virginia

JAMES A. FREEBERSYSER, BBN Technology, St. Louis Park, Minnesota

RONALD P. FUCHS, Independent Consultant, Seattle, Washington

W. HARVEY GRAY, Independent Consultant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

JOHN J. HAMMOND, Lockheed Martin Corporation (retired), Fairfax, Virginia

RANDALL W. HILL, JR., University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies, Playa Vista

JOHN W. HUTCHINSON, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

MARY JANE IRWIN, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

ROBIN L. KEESEE, Independent Consultant, Fairfax, Virginia

ELLIOT D. KIEFF, Channing Laboratory, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts

WILLIAM L. MELVIN, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Smyrna ROBIN MURPHY, Texas A&M University, College Station

SCOTT PARAZYNSKI, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston

RICHARD R. PAUL, Independent Consultant, Bellevue, Washington

JEAN D. REED, Independent Consultant, Arlington, Virginia

LEON E. SALOMON, Independent Consultant, Gulfport, Florida

JONATHAN M. SMITH, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MARK J.T. SMITH, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

MICHAEL A. STROSCIO, University of Illinois, Chicago

DAVID A. TIRRELL, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

JOSEPH YAKOVAC, President, JVM LLC, Hampton, Virginia

Staff

BRUCE A. BRAUN, Director

CHRIS JONES, Financial Manager

DEANNA P. SPARGER, Program Administrative Coordinator

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
×

Preface

More than 25 years ago, in 1986, the U.S. Army began destruction of its nearly 30,000-ton legacy of stockpiled chemical agents, stored in approximately 3 million individual munitions as well as numerous bulk agent containers. The nation’s chemical weapons demilitarization effort has succeeded in destroying the chemical munitions and bulk agent stored at six of the eight chemical agent depots located in the continental United States. Chemical weapons that had been deployed abroad and relocated to a storage depot on Johnston Atoll, southwest of Hawaii, have also been successfully destroyed. To date, 90 percent of the original U.S. stockpile has been safely destroyed.

Six of the eight continental chemical stockpiles, as well as the Johnson Atoll site, contained large numbers of assembled chemical weapons as well as bulk agent containers, while the other two continental sites stored only bulk agent containers. The demilitarization facilities that successfully dealt with both assembled weapons and bulk agent at five storage sites used several types of specialized furnaces to incinerate chemical agent and energetic materials and decontaminate metal munitions casings, bulk agent containers, and many agent-contaminated secondary waste streams. The two demilitarization facilities dealing only with bulk agent used chemical neutralization (aqueous-based hydrolysis) reactions to fragment and detoxify the chemical agents and a combination of decontamination solutions and steam to clean the agent containers.

Demilitarization plants for the two remaining chemical weapons depots, which contain the remaining 10 percent of the nation’s chemical agent in assembled chemical projectiles and rockets, are currently under construction. These facilities are funded separately under the DOD’s Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) program and implemented by a dedicated U.S. Army Element. Local concerns about incineration of chemical weapons forced the Army to design these facilities without the large furnaces used at other assembled chemical weapons demilitarization plants to destroy agent and energetics and to decontaminate many secondary waste materials. The lack of high-throughput furnaces to destroy or decontaminate secondary waste materials creates a need to easily and reliably determine which waste materials are contaminated with agent and if initial decontamination efforts have succeeded. Demilitarization facility closure activities might also be expedited if tools, equipment, and building surfaces could be monitored easily and reliably for agent contamination.

While the Army has developed and successfully used methods to detect chemical agent contamination of various materials, these tend to be indirect and time consuming. Recent advances in analytical instrumentation suggest that it may be feasible to deploy robust portable instruments that can detect and characterize chemical agent contamination

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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of a wide variety of materials in real time. Formed under the auspices of the Board on Army Science and Technology (BAST), the Committee on Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants (ACWA Monitoring Committee) was appointed by the National Research Council to survey the capabilities of newly available analytical instrumentation, and to assess how such capabilities might be deployed to better characterize chemical agent contamination of secondary waste materials during agent destruction operations and provide a real-time monitoring tool for contaminated equipment and construction materials during closure activities at the last two U.S. chemical weapons stockpile demilitarization facilities.

In the present report, the ACWA Monitoring Committee presents its findings and recommendations to the Program Manager for Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PMACWA), whose staff is responsible for the construction, operation, and closure of the last two U.S. chemical weapons stockpile demilitarization facilities. During its deliberations, the committee benefited from the insights and analyses of senior ACWA personnel and wishes to specifically acknowledge detailed inputs about anticipated ACWA operational procedures and requirements from C.J. Anderson and J.M. Kiley. The committee also benefited greatly from the efforts of BAST’s professional staff, including the study director, Harrison T. Pannella, senior research associate Nia D. Johnson, and research assistant and logistics expert Ann F. Larrow.

image

Charles E. Kolb, Chair

Committee on Assessment of Agent

Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass

and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction

Pilot Plants

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
×

Acknowledgment of Reviewers

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 National Research Council’s (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:

Charles K. Bayne, Consultant;

John I. Brauman, NAS, Stanford University;

Robert B. Cody, JEOL USA, Inc.;

R. Graham Cooks, Purdue University;

Gary S. Groenewold, Idaho National Laboratory;

M. Douglas LeVan, Vanderbilt University;

Fred W. McLafferty, NAS, Cornell University;

W. Leigh Short, Consultant (retired); and

G. Geoffrey Vining, Virginia Tech.

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, Napadensky Energetics Inc. (retired). Appointed by the NRC, she 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.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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Tables, Figures, and Boxes

TABLES

2-1   Processes and Unit Operations Being Used at PCAPP and BGCAPP
2-2   Airborne Exposure Limits, Vapor Screening Levels, and Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Chemical Agents
2-3   Release Levels, Based on AEL Values, for Reuse of Items
2-4   Room Contamination Requirements Using Near-Real-Time Monitoring of the Vapors in the Room
2-5   Chemical Weapons Stockpile of HD- or HT-Filled Munitions at Pueblo Chemical Depot
2-6   Description of the Chemical Weapons in the BGAD Stockpile
 
3-1   Projected Amounts of Mustard-Agent-Contaminated Secondary Waste from Normal Operations at PCAPP
3-2   Projected Amounts of Mustard-Agent-Contaminated Secondary Waste from Closure at PCAPP
3-3   Projected Secondary Waste Streams for >1 VSL Agent-Contaminated Waste During Operations and Closure at BGCAPP
3-4   Projected Secondary Waste Streams for <1 VSL Agent-Contaminated Waste During Operations and Closure at BGCAPP
3-5   Estimated Agent-Contaminated Waste Stream Summary for Operations and Closure at BGCAPP
3-6   Critical Measurement Performance Criteria for Possible Scenarios
 
4-1   Physical Properties of Chemical Warfare Agents
4-2   List of Acronyms (Ordered Alphabetically) and Relevant References Describing Various Ambient Surface Sampling Techniques
4-3   Capabilities and Limitations of Ambient Mass Spectrometry (DART and DESI) and Existing Vapor Monitoring (DAAMS and MINICAMS) Measurement Strategies
4-4   Comparative Capabilities and Limitations of DART and DESI for Characterization of Contamination by ACWA-Relevant Chemical Agents (GB, VX, HD)
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
×
 
FIGURES    
 
2-1   PCAPP munitions process flow chart
2-2   Process and waste stream diagram for PCAPP
2-3   PCAPP site layout
2-4   BGCAPP munitions process flow chart
2-5   Process and waste stream diagram for BGCAPP
2-6   BGCAPP site layout
2-7   The nine activated carbon filter units for the MDB HVAC system
2-8   Vestibule on the side of an MDB HVAC unit
2-9   Schematic representation of airflow through the six filter banks that make up each MDB filter unit
2-10   A filter tray
2-11   Airflow path through a filter tray
 
3-1   An overview of the analysis plan for PCAPP
3-2   Workers in personal protective equipment working at a chemical weapons disposal facility
3-3   An example of a large item tented for monitoring at closure
 
4-1   Schematic diagram of DART ion source
4-2   Schematic diagram of DESI ion source
4-3   Schematic illustrations showing the operation of several different ion sources and sampling schemes for ambient mass spectrometry
4-4   Additional illustrations showing the operation of several different ion sources and sampling schemes for ambient mass spectrometry
4-5   Laser-based ambient ionization techniques: (left) Laser Ablation-Electrospray Ionization (LAESI) and (right) Infrared Laser Ablation Metastable-induced Chemical Ionization (IR-LAMICI)
4-6   Schematic illustrations (this page and facing page) showing the operation of several different ion sources and sampling schemes for ambient masss pectrometry
4-7   DART mass spectra of agent standards
4-8   Structures of HD, GA, GB, and VX, with CAS designations in brackets
4-9   High-resolution mass spectra obtained by DART for 800 ng VX on aluminum, concrete, and a bird feather
4-10   Surfaces of steel, rubber hose, concrete, and charcoal spiked with 10 ng GB (top row) and unspiked surfaces (bottom row)
4-11   DESI remote sampling techniques
4-12   DESI remote sampling techniques using AE and AFAI
4-13   RASTIR and ND-EESI schematics
4-14   Multiple-sprayer and nonproximate large-area sprayer DESI setups
 
5-1   Estimated calibration function for VX in DI (deionized) water
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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Acronyms and Abbreviations

AAS   atomic absorption spectrometry
ACS   agent collection system
ACWA   Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives
AEGLS   acute exposure guideline levels
AEL   airborne exposure limit
AFAI   air flow assisted ionization
ALT   Acquisitions, Logistics & Technology
ANCDF   Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility
ANR   agent neutralization reactor
ANS   agent neutralization system
APB   agent processing building
APCI   atmospheric pressure chemical ionization
 
BGAD   Blue Grass Army Depot
BGCAPP   Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant
BRAC   base realignment and closure
 
CAM   cavity access machine
CDC   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDPHE   Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment
CLLE   continuous liquid-liquid extraction
CMA   Chemical Materials Agency (U.S. Army)
CWA   Chemical warfare agent
CWC   Chemical Weapons Convention
 
DAAMS   depot area air monitoring system(s)
DART   direct analysis in real time
DESI   desorption electrospray ionization
DL   detection limit
DMMP   dimethyl methylphosphonate
DPE   demilitarization protective ensemble
 
EBH   energetics batch hydrolyzer
ECR   explosive containment room
ECV   explosion containment vestibule
Page xviii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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EDT   explosive destruction technology
ENR   energetics neutralization reactor
EPA   Environmental Protection Agency
EQL   expected quantitation limit
ERB   enhanced reconfiguration building
ESI   electrospray ionization
ESSI   electrosonic spray ionization
 
FOAK   first-of-a-kind [equipment]
 
GB   a nerve agent (sarin)
GC-MS   gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
GPL   general population limit
 
H   mustard agent
HD   distilled mustard agent
HT   distilled mustard mixed with bis(2-chloroethylthioethyl) ether
HVAC   heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
 
ICB   immobilized cell bioreactor
ICP-MS   inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
IDLH   immediately dangerous to life or health
IP   ionization potential
 
JACADS   Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System
 
LADESI   laser ablation/desorption electrospray ionization
LCL   lower confidence limit
LMQAP   laboratory monitoring quality assurance plan
LPMD   linear projectile/mortar disassembly
 
MCP   monitoring concept plan
MDB   munitions demilitarization building
MDL   method detection limit
MINICAMS   miniature continuous air monitoring system(s)
MPT   metal parts treater
MS   mass spectrometry; mass spectrometer
MSM   munitions storage magazine
MS/MS   tandem mass spectrometry
MTU   munitions treatment unit
MVUE   minimum variance unbiased estimate
MWS   munitions washout system
 
ND-EESI   neutral desorption-extractive electrospray ionization
NECDF   Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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NRC   National Research Council
 
OLS   ordinary least squares
OST   occluded space team
 
PCAPP   Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant
PCD   Pueblo Chemical Depot
PCE   protective clothing and equipment
PMACWA   Program Manager for Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives
PPE   personal protective equipment
PQL   practical quantitation limit
PVC   polyvinyl chloride
 
RASTIR   remote analyte sampling, transport, and ionization relay
RCM   rocket cutting machine
RCRA   Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
RD&D   research development and demonstration
 
SCWO   supercritical water oxidation
SFT   shipping and firing tube
SPME   solid phase microextraction
STEL   short term exposure limit Tchemical compound ((ClCH2CH2)2SCH2CH2)2O
 
TAP   toxological agent protective
TCLP   toxic characteristic leaching procedure
TOC   total organic carbon
TOF   time-of-flight
TSDF   treatment, storage and disposal facility
 
UCL   upper confidence limit
UPL   upper prediction limit
 
VOC   volatile organic compound
VSL   vapor screening level
VX   a nerve agent
 
WAP   waste analysis plan
WCL   waste control limit
WLS   weighted least squares
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13431.
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January 2012 saw the completion of the U.S. Army's Chemical Materials Agency's (CMA's) task to destroy 90 percent of the nation's stockpile of chemical weapons. CMA completed destruction of the chemical agents and associated weapons deployed overseas, which were transported to Johnston Atoll, southwest of Hawaii, and demilitarized there. The remaining 10 percent of the nation's chemical weapons stockpile is stored at two continental U.S. depots, in Lexington, Kentucky, and Pueblo, Colorado. Their destruction has been assigned to a separate U.S. Army organization, the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) Element.

ACWA is currently constructing the last two chemical weapons disposal facilities, the Pueblo and Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants (denoted PCAPP and BGCAPP), with weapons destruction activities scheduled to start in 2015 and 2020, respectively. ACWA is charged with destroying the mustard agent stockpile at Pueblo and the nerve and mustard agent stockpile at Blue Grass without using the multiple incinerators and furnaces used at the five CMA demilitarization plants that dealt with assembled chemical weapons - munitions containing both chemical agents and explosive/propulsive components. The two ACWA demilitarization facilities are congressionally mandated to employ noncombustion-based chemical neutralization processes to destroy chemical agents.

In order to safely operate its disposal plants, CMA developed methods and procedures to monitor chemical agent contamination of both secondary waste materials and plant structural components. ACWA currently plans to adopt these methods and procedures for use at these facilities. The Assessment of Agent Monitoring Strategies for the Blue Grass and Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plants report also develops and describes a half-dozen scenarios involving prospective ACWA secondary waste characterization, process equipment maintenance and changeover activities, and closure agent decontamination challenges, where direct, real-time agent contamination measurements on surfaces or in porous bulk materials might allow more efficient and possibly safer operations if suitable analytical technology is available and affordable.

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