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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 14 contaminant concentrations and would require testing and demonstration for use in chemical demilitarization. For stockpiles located in populated areas, activated-carbon filters could be installed on waste gas outlets to remove any remaining agent and other trace organic compounds. These filters would also capture any transient emissions (puffs) of agent that might escape from the destruction system. This approach could greatly reduce the probability of dangerous releases of agent or other toxic materials in air to the atmosphere during both design and off-design operations. Alternatively, a dosed-loop system could store waste streams until chemical analysis established their suitability for disposal. For large combustion facilities (e.g., as for general-purpose hazardous waste incineration), gas storage volume requirements are too large to represent an economically viable option. However, for the stockpile disposal program, the relatively small scale of operations and extremely toxic nature of chemical warfare agents lend interest to this approach. Preliminary calculations by the committee suggest that commercial gas holders may be large enough for this application. The use of gas holders would allow exhaust gases to be retained and analyzed before their release. If unacceptable contaminants were detected, the gas could be recycled through the destruction system. The use of oxygen instead of air would also significantly reduce the size of the gas holders needed. Finally, gas waste streams could be minimized or eliminated. Oxygen could be used instead of air to reduce gas waste streams, but revised designs would be required for those systems now designed to operate with air. Another strategy for eliminating gas waste streams would be to convert them to solid products. The carbon dioxide gas resulting from oxidation, for example, could be converted to solid calcium carbonate. Treated Metal Parts and Containers Metal parts and bulk (ton) containers are heated to the 5X criterion in the baseline approach; they would also be heated to this extent in several high-temperature alternative technologies. Such treatment allows these materials to be recycled as scrap metal. The materials could instead be chemically decontaminated to a level that allows their transportation and disposal as toxic waste, eliminating the need for equipment to heat the larger metal parts, such as drained artillery shells and ton containers.
