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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities

Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program

Board on Army Science and Technology

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418

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 view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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    THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

    National Academy of Sciences

    National Academy of Engineering

    Institute of Medicine

    National Research Council

    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. Bruce M. Alberts 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. William A. Wulf 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. Kenneth I. Shine 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. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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Page iv

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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Page v

    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

    J. ROBERT GIBSON, DuPont Life Sciences, Wilmington, Delaware (until 12/31/00)

    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, EQE International, Inc., Irvine, California

    CHARLES E. KOLB, Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts (until 12/31/00)

    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

    WILLIAM TUMAS, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (until 2/20/01)

    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., Senior Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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BOARD ON ARMY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

WILLIAM H. FORSTER, Chair, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Baltimore, Maryland

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., Columbus, Indiana

HENRY J. HATCH, American Society of Civil Engineers (retired), Oakton, Virginia

EDWARD J. HAUG, University of Iowa, Iowa City

ROBERT J. HEASTON, Guidance and Control Information Analysis Center (retired), Naperville, Illinois

GERALD J. IAFRATE, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana

MIRIAM E. JOHN, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California

DONALD R. KEITH, Cypress International, Alexandria, Virginia

KATHRYN V. LOGAN, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi

JOHN E. MILLER, Oracle Corporation, Reston, Virginia

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., Melbourne, Florida

ALLEN C. WARD, Ward Synthesis, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan

Staff

BRUCE A. BRAUN, Director

MICHAEL A. CLARKE, Associate Director

WILLIAM E. CAMPBELL, Administrative Coordinator

CHRIS JONES, Financial Associate

DEANNA P. SPARGER, Senior Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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Preface

The United States has maintained a stockpile of chemical warfare agents and munitions for more than half a century. In 1985, Public Law 99-145 mandated an expedited effort to dispose of M55 rockets containing unitary chemical warfare agents because of their potential for self-ignition. This program soon expanded to become the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (CSDP), with the mission of eliminating the entire stockpile of unitary chemical agents and munitions. The Army developed the baseline incineration system for that purpose. Since 1987, the National Research Council, through the Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (Stockpile Committee), has provided technical and scientific advice and counsel to the Army's disposal program and has endorsed the baseline incineration system as an adequate technology for destroying the stockpile. In 1992, after setting several intermediate goals and dates, Congress enacted Public Law 102-484, which directed the Army to dispose of the entire stockpile by December 31, 2004, a deadline that was changed to April 29, 2007, after the United States ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention.

We wish to express our appreciation to the members of the Stockpile Committee who helped in the preparation of this report by collecting significant data and information, making site visits to existing facilities and facilities under construction, and writing the report. Charles E. Kolb took the lead for the study, working closely with David H. Archer, J. Robert Gibson, Charles F. Reinhardt, and Chadwick A. Tolman. The committee is also grateful to the Office of the Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization and its contractors for the useful information they provided.

The committee greatly appreciates the support and assistance of National Research Council staff members Donald L. Siebenaler, Harrison T. Pannella, William E. Campbell, Daniel E.J. Talmage, Jr., and Carol R. Arenberg in the production of this report.

Peter B. Lederman, Chair

Charles I. McGinnis, Vice Chair

Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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Page viii

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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Page ix

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 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:

Jonathan Borak, Yale University

William L. Budde, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Philip K. Hopke, Clarkson University

Steven Markowitz, Queens College

Lewis D. Pepper, Boston University School of Public Health

Sylvia S. Talmage, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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 Mark Cullen, Yale University, appointed by the Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, 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.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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Page xi

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
1     INTRODUCTION 3
    Chemical Agent and Munitions Stockpile, 3
    Call for Disposal, 5
        Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program, 5
        Chemical Weapons Convention, 5
    Disposal Technology, 5
    Chemical Demilitarization Workforce, 6
    Role of the Stockpile Committee, 8
    Statement of Task and Content of Report, 9
2     WORKPLACE CHEMICAL MONITORING 10
    Monitoring Considerations, 10
    Monitoring for Airborne Agent, 11
        Description, 11
        Exposure Limits and Process Control Levels, 12
        Assessment, 13
    Monitoring Agent in Liquids and Solids, 13
    Monitoring Nonagent Chemicals in Air, 14
    Agent Breakdown Products and Contaminants in Liquids, 15
    Solids Contamination: Special Considerations Related to Closure, 19
3     HEALTH MONITORING 20
    Function of an Occupational and Environmental Health Program, 20
        A Generic Program, 21
    Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program Occupational Health Program, 23
        Overview, 23
        Assessment and Evaluation, 23
    Developments in Medical Diagnostic Techniques, 25
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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Page xii

4     DATA UTILIZATION AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT 26
    Data Requirements, 26
    Correlating Time/Activity and Chemical Concentration Records, 27
    Employee Health Information and Workplace Monitoring Data, 28
    Standards for Electronic Databases, 28
5     FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 29
REFERENCES 32
APPENDIXES
    A     Reports by the Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (Stockpile Committee) 37
    B     Biographical Sketches of Committee Members 39
Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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Page xiii

List of Figures and Tables

FIGURES

1-1     Location and size (percentage of original stockpile) of eight continental U.S. storage sites, 4
1-2     Schematic drawing of the TOCDF incineration system, 7
2-1     Simplified scheme for the hydrolysis of GB, 17
2-2     Hydrolysis of stabilizer N-N′-diisopropyl carbodiimide, 17
2-3     Simplified scheme for the hydrolysis of VX, 17
2-4     Major hydrolysis pathways for mustard, 18

TABLES

1-1     Projected Employment Totals for Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities, 8
2-1     Media That May Require Chemical Monitoring, 10
2-2     Airborne and Related Exposure Limits and Process Control Levels, 12
2-3     Physical Properties of Agents and Major Hydrolysis Products, 16
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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Page xiv

Acronyms

ACAMS automatic continuous air monitoring system

ACOEM American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

CAMDS Chemical Agent Munitions Disposal System

CAS Chemical Abstracts Service

CEMS continuous emission monitoring system

CSDP Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program

CWC Chemical Weapons Convention

DAAMS depot area air monitoring system

DCD Deseret Chemical Depot

DESH 2-diisopropyl ethyl mercaptoamine

DNA deoxyribonucleic acid

DPE demilitarization protective ensemble

DRE destruction and removal efficiency

DSHW Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste

EA-2192 S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methylphosphonothioc acid

EMPA ethyl methylphosphonic acid

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

GA tabun (a nerve agent)

GB sarin (a nerve agent)

H mustard: Levinstein mustard: mixture of 70 percent bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide and 30 percent sulfur impurities

HD distilled mustard: bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide

HRA health risk assessment

HT vesicant mixture: 60 percent bis (2-chloroethyl)sulfide and 40 percent bis[2(2-chloroethylthio)ethyl] ether

IMPA isopropyl methylphosphonic acid

IT-SIMS ion-trap secondary ion mass spectometry

JACADS Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System

MDB munitions demilitarization building

MPA methylphosphonic acid

NOx nitrogen oxide

NRC National Research Council

OPIDN organophosphorous-induced delayed neuropathy

OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration

PAS pollution abatement system

PDAR process data acquisition recording

PMCD Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization

PRP personnel reliability program

QAPP Quality Assurance Program Plan

QRA quantitative risk assessment

SCWO supercritical water oxidation

SOPC substance of potential concern

T bis[2(2-chloroethylthio)ethyl] ether

TOCDF Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility

VX a nerve agent

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10152.
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In keeping with a congressional mandate (Public Law 104-484) and the Chemical Weapons Convention, the United States is currently destroying its chemical weapons stockpile. The Army must ensure that the chemical demilitarization workforce is protected from the risks of exposure to hazardous chemicals during disposal operations and during and after facility closure. Good industrial practices developed in the chemical and nuclear energy industries and other operations that involve the processing of hazardous materials include workplace monitoring of hazardous species and a systematic occupational health program for monitoring workers' activities and health. In this report, the National Research Council Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program examines the methods and systems used at JACADS and TOCDF, the two operational facilities, to monitor the concentrations of airborne and condensed-phase chemical agents, agent breakdown products, and other substances of concern. The committee also reviews the occupational health programs at these sites, including their industrial hygiene and occupational medicine components. Finally, it evaluates the nature, quality, and utility of records of workplace chemical monitoring and occupational health programs.

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