contained until it has been analyzed and certified safe for release into the environment. In practice, given the small scale of the CAIS disposal operations, some CAIS-derived effluents may be produced in quantities too small to be monitored effectively or efficiently in the total effluent stream(s) from a waste disposal process, but also too small to present significant hazards. For example, when an HD-containing CAIS sample is burned in a commercial incinerator, much supplemental fuel will be needed to maintain an adequate combustion temperature. The amount of HD combustion products in the stack gas will therefore be negligible.

The legal and regulatory context for the CAIS disposal problem was described in Chapter 1. In evaluating a particular disposal alternative, the mutual consistency of the existing laws, regulations, and treaties must be considered (see Box 3-1). One issue is the current classification of CAIS sets and items as chemical warfare materiel and whether they could be reclassified as a characteristic hazardous waste under RCRA (the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act). Special requirements for transporting chemical warfare materiel apply to CAIS sets and items under the current classification. A second issue is that two CAIS chemicals, sulfur mustard and lewisite, are classified as chemical warfare agents, while other CAIS chemicals are classified as industrial chemicals and hazardous waste. A third issue for CAIS disposal is that Army facilities built for the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program are prohibited by federal law from being used to dispose of any materiel in the "non-stockpile" category, including CAIS sets, items, or chemicals.

The committee believes that disposal options that require extraordinary legal or regulatory changes will encounter significant hurdles. However, the key to resolving these issues with a consistent approach that protects workers, the public, and the environment is to classify complete CAIS or items separated from CAIS as a characteristic hazardous waste under RCRA, even if some of the chemicals found in CAIS, such as HD, continue to be classified as chemical warfare agents. This approach would be consistent with historical practice in environmental regulation. For example, many wastes are classified as solid wastes, not hazardous wastes, although they contain the same chemicals as hazardous wastes. The relative amount of the hazardous constituents and the risk associated with them are the basis for the difference in classification. The same substances present at higher levels would require that the waste be classified in the more stringent category of hazardous waste.

A reclassification of CAIS also makes sense from the perspective of the history of CAIS production and use. CAIS were intended to be used not as chemical weapons but as test kits for training troops to defend themselves from chemical attack. Thus, it is reasonable to regulate CAIS on the basis of the risks they pose, rather than as former chemical weapons. Federal laws and international treaties governing treatment of munitions and chemical weapons are not clear about whether CAIS must be categorized as chemical weapons and chemical warfare materiel (see Appendix D). The Army has very strictly construed the statutory scheme and classified CAIS as a lethal chemical warfare agent or chemical warfare materiel in its regulations and guidance documents. This classification brings with it prohibitions, constraints, and administrative requirements that greatly increase the cost of destroying CAIS but provide a negligible increase in safety to workers, the public, or the environment.

The EPA reviewed the chemical agents found in CAIS and concluded that they have the characteristics of hazardous wastes as defined by RCRA. EPA considers the federal

Front Matter (R1-R14)

Executive Summary (1-10)

1 Introduction (11-30)

2 Disposal Alternatives (31-37)

3 Issues to Consider (38-52)

4 Review of the Commercial Incineration Option (53-74)

5 Alternatives to Commercial Incineration of CAIS (75-93)

6 Conclusions and Recommendations (94-104)

References (105-112)

Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members (113-116)

Appendix B: Committee Meetings and Other Activities (117-121)

Appendix C: Methods of Treating Non-Stockpile Chemical Material (122-124)

Appendix D: Legal Context for CAIS Disposal (125-135)