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 competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
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COMMITTEE ON REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF THE ARMY CHEMICAL STOCKPILE DISPOSAL PROGRAM
RICHARD S. MAGEE, Chair,
New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark
ELISABETH M. DRAKE, Vice Chair,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
DENNIS C. BLEY,
Buttonwood Consulting, Inc., Fountain Valley, California
COLIN G. DRURY,
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
GENE H. DYER, Consultant,
San Rafael, California
MG VINCENT E. FALTER,
USA Retired, Springfield, Virginia
ANN FISHER,
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park
J. ROBERT GIBSON,
DuPont Agricultural Products, Wilmington, Delaware
CHARLES E. KOLB,
Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts
DAVID S. KOSSON,
Rutgers—The State University, Piscataway, New Jersey
WALTER G. MAY,
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
ALVIN H. MUSHKATEL,
Arizona State University, Tempe
PETER J. NIEMIEC,
Greenberg, Glusker, Fields, Claman & Machtinger, Los Angeles
GEORGE W. PARSHALL,
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, Delaware
JAMES R. WILD,
Texas A&M University, College Station
JYA-SYIN WU,
Advanced System Concepts Associates, El Segundo, California (as of August, 1995)
Staff
DONALD L. SIEBENALER, Study Director
MARGO L. FRANCESCO, Administrative Supervisor
DEBORAH B. RANDALL, Project Assistant
BOARD ON ARMY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
GENERAL GLENN K. OTIS, Chair,
USA Retired, Newport News, Virginia
CHRISTOPHER C. GREEN, Vice Chair,
General Motors Corporation, Warren, Michigan
ROBERT A. BEAUDET,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
GARY L. BORMAN,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
ALBERTO COLL,
U.S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island
LAWRENCE J. DELANEY,
BDM Europe, Berlin, Germany
JAMES L. FLANAGAN,
Center for Computer Aids in Industrial Productivity, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
ROBERT J. HEASTON,
Guidance and Control Information Analysis Center, Chicago, Illinois
THOMAS MCNAUGHER,
Arroyo Center, RAND Corporation, Washington, D.C.
NORMAN F. PARKER,
Varian Associates (Retired), Cardiff by the Sea, California
KATHLEEN J. ROBERTSON,
Booz, Allen and Hamilton, McLean, Virginia
JAY P. SANFORD,
University of Southwestern Health Sciences Center, Dallas, Texas
HARVEY W. SCHADLER,
General Electric Corporation, Schenectady, New York
JOYCE L. SHIELDS,
Hay Management Consultants, Arlington, Virginia
CLARENCE G. THORNTON,
Army Research Laboratories (Retired), Colts Neck, New Jersey
JOHN D. VENABLES,
Venables & Associates, Towson, Maryland
ALLEN C. WARD,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Staff
BRUCE A. BRAUN, Director
E. VINCENT HOLAHAN, Senior Program Officer
ROBERT J. LOVE, Senior Program Officer
DONALD L. SIEBENALER, Senior Program Officer
PATRICIA A. KIRCHNER, Administrative Associate
MARGO L. FRANCESCO, Administrative Supervisor
ALVERA V. GIRCYS, Senior Program Assistant
JACQUELINE CAMPBELL-JOHNSON, Senior Project Assistant
SHIREL R. SMITH, Senior Project Assistant
DEBORAH B. RANDALL, Project Assistant
Preface
In 1985, the Congress of the United States directed the U.S. Army to destroy the nation's stockpile of unitary chemical agents and munitions. This mandate has been complemented by international agreements, such as the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, that require completion of the destruction process within 10 years after ratification by 65 of the treaty's signatories.
The stockpile to be destroyed comprises chemical warfare agents: nerve agents, GB and VX, and mustard agent, HD. These agents are contained in a variety of munitions and bulk containers that are distributed among eight sites in the continental United States and at Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Initially, the Army planned to build and operate integrated incineration facilities at each of the eight sites in the continental United States. The National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Demilitarizing Chemical Agents and Munitions evaluated the proposed baseline incineration system and determined that it was a safe and effective process for disposal of the stockpile. However, the choice of incineration as the preferred technology has become controversial and is opposed by some community groups and environmental organizations.
To address these concerns, as early as 1991 the NRC's Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (the Stockpile Committee, author of the present report) suggested, and the Army agreed, that a study of alternatives technologies should be undertaken. In June 1993, the NRC Committee on Alternative Chemical Demilitarization Technologies (Alternatives Committee) presented the Army with the results of a study, which summarized about two dozen alternative technologies. Subsequently, the Stockpile Committee recommended that the Army accelerate research and development on four neutralization-based technologies.
The Army embarked on an intensive research and development program on neutralization-based processes, which it expects will lead to the selection of one or two systems for further development. The Army anticipates that by late 1996 a decision will be made about whether an alternative technology requires pilotscale demonstration. To facilitate the decision-making process, the Army developed draft assessment criteria that address regulatory requirements, safety and health requirements, and scheduling and cost effectiveness requirements, as well as technological considerations and issues related to public acceptance of the alternative processes.
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Statement of Task In order to carry out its assessment of the Army's alternative technology research and development program, the Stockpile Committee will evaluate the Army's draft criteria developed for its decision to proceed or not with advanced development and demonstration of a neutralization-based alternative technology.
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The Stockpile Committee task was to assist in the decision-making process by evaluating the Army's draft assessment criteria and by analyzing the results of research and development related to the neutralizationbased alternative technologies. The committee's evaluation focused on determining if the criteria were adequate to address both the technical requirements for a disposal technology and public concerns about agent-
destruction technologies. This report contains the results of that evaluation.
During its evaluation, the committee sought public input on critical factors that should underlie the assessment criteria through both public meetings and written input from a wide range of environmental organizations, state regulatory authorities, Citizens Advisory Commissions, and individuals who live in communities near the stockpile storage sites. The committee also met with the Applied Technology Branch of the Army's Office of the Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization to gather information on scientific and engineering factors critical to the technology decision. All of this information was considered during the evaluation process.
The committee wishes particularly to recognize the efforts of the alternative technologies subcommittee comprising George W. Parshall, Lead, Davis S. Kosson, Gene H. Dyer, Peter J. Niemiec, and James R. Wild. This group was aided greatly in solicitation of public input and conduct of public meetings by Ann Fisher and Alvin H. Mushkatel. The entire process was ably supported by NRC Staff members Donald L. Siebenaler, Margo L. Francesco, Deborah B. Randall, consultant William Spindel, and editors Catherine Brown and Andrea Posner.
The committee also thanks the Office of the Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization for their assistance in enabling the committee to review the progress of the alternative technologies program and for making available written documentation as requested.
Richard S. Magee, Chair
Elisabeth M. Drake, Vice Chair
Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program
Abbreviations and Acronyms
BRA
Brine reduction area
CAMDS
Chemical Agent Munitions Disposal System
CSDP
Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program
CSM
Chemical Surety Material
CWC
Chemical Weapons Convention
DoD
Department of Defense
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
GB
Volatile nerve agent
H
Blister or mustard agent
HD
Distilled mustard agent
HCl
Hydrogen chloride
NaOH
Sodium hydroxide
NRC
National Research Council
OSHA
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OVT
Operational Verification Testing
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
RDT&E
Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation
TDG
Thiodiglycol
VX
Organophosphate Nerve Agent
