Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities (2001) / Chapter Skim
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2 Workplace Chemical Monitoring
2 Workplace Chemical Monitoring
Pages 10-19
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From page 10... ...
at chemical agent disposal facilities include chemical agents, agent breakdown products, other munitions related chemicals and their decomposition products, and other substances created or released during agent processing or normal industrial repair or maintenance activities. Proper monitoring and awareness of chemical hazards are essential during all phases of operation construction, startup and testing, agent and munitions destruction, and plant closure and possibly even after the Army has relinquished control of the facilities.
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From page 11... ...
Even in the absence of ACAMS alarms, DAAMS adsorption tubes are periodically collected and taken to the facility' s laboratory for Resorption and quantitative analysis on a research-grade gas chromatograph with flame photometric detection. A gas chromatograph with mass spectrometric detection is also available in each laboratory to help identify compounds that lead to false positive ACAMS alarms or otherwise interfere with the quantification of agents or agent derivatives.
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From page 12... ...
. Exposure Limits and Process Control Levels The alarm levels for deployed ACAMS monitors at various facility sites are typically set at 20 percent of a specific airborne exposure limit or process control level.
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From page 13... ...
A DAAMS tube without associated ACAMS monitoring can only indicate the average agent level between the time of deployment and the time of collection for analysis. One potential weakness of the current airborne agent monitoring program is that ACAMS monitors are typically set to detect only the single agent currently being processed.
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From page 14... ...
The committee has recommended that the Army consider periodically monitoring emissions for species other than agent during normal operations as a means of reassuring disposal facility workers and the public that they are not being exposed to unacceptable risk (NRC, 1994b)
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From page 15... ...
AGENT BREAKDOWN PRODUCTS AND CONTAMINANTS IN LIQUIDS In addition to monitoring for mustard and VX that may remain in the hydrolysates produced at Aberdeen and Newport, respectively, monitoring must also measure the more toxic agent breakdown compounds that remain after hydrolysis. Because hydrolysis by aqueous caustic or hypochlorite solution is the method used for agent decontamination throughout the CSDP, all sites should consider this possible exposure source.
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From page 17... ...
WORKPLA CE CHEMICAL MONITORING 17 O O O ~ H2O I~ H2O ~ CH3 P - CH(CH3~2 ~ CH3-P-OCH(CH3~2 ~ CH3-P-OH F CH very sIow OH Agent GB isopropy' methyI- methyI phosphonic acid phosphoric acid FIGURE 2-1 Simplified scheme for the hydrolysis of GB. Source: Munro et al., 1999.
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From page 18... ...
Examples include mustard and hemimustard-thiodiglycol aggregates, mustard sulfone, and divinyl sulfone (Munro et al., 1999~. A more complete description of the hydrolysis reactions involving these and other chemical agents and of H2O S / CH2-CH2-S-`CH2-CH2-oH'2 \ CH2-CH2-OH hemimustardthiodiglycol aggregate the toxicities of the products can be found in Munro et al.
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From page 19... ...
The method can identify breakdown products, as well as agents. The development of this method or a comparable advanced surface analysis technique to screen solid samples rapidly and sensitively for agent or toxic agent breakdown products could significantly improve detection and decrease the chances of worker exposure during some routine chemical demilitarization operations and many facility closure procedures.
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