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.
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 Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
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This is a report of work supported by Contract DAAD19-99-C-0010 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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COMMITTEE ON REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF THE ARMY CHEMICAL STOCKPILE DISPOSAL PROGRAM
DAVID S. KOSSON, chair,
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick
CHARLES E. KOLB, vice chair,
Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts
DAVID H. ARCHER,
Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
PIERO M. ARMENANTE,
New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark
DENNIS C. BLEY,
Buttonwood Consulting, Inc., Oakton, Virginia
JERRY L. R. CHANDLER,
George Mason University, McLean, Virginia (as of 7/1/99)
FRANK P. CRIMI,
Lockheed Martin (retired), Saratoga, California
ELISABETH M. DRAKE,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge (until 3/31/99)
J. ROBERT GIBSON,
DuPont Life Sciences, Wilmington, Delaware
MICHAEL R. GREENBERG,
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick
KATHRYN E. KELLY,
Delta Toxicology, Crystal Bay, Nevada
PETER B. LEDERMAN,
New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark (as of 7/1/99)
RICHARD S. MAGEE,
New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark (until 1/27/99)
JAMES F. MATHIS,
Exxon Corporation (retired), Houston, Texas
WALTER G. MAY,
University of Illinois, Urbana (until 7/31/99)
CHARLES I. McGINNIS, Consultant,
Charlottesville, Virginia (as of 7/1/99)
ALVIN H. MUSHKATEL,
Arizona State University, Tempe (until 3/31/99)
H. GREGOR RIGO,
Rigo & Rigo Associates, Inc., Berea, Ohio
KOZO SAITO,
University of Kentucky, Lexington
W. LEIGH SHORT,
URS Greiner Woodward-Clyde (retired), Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (as of 7/1/99)
ARNOLD F. STANCELL,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
STEVEN R. TANNENBAUM,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge (as of 7/1/99)
CHADWICK A. TOLMAN,
National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
WILLIAM TUMAS,
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
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, Research Associate
WILLIAM E. CAMPBELL, Senior Project Assistant
BOARD ON ARMY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
WILLIAM H. FORSTER, chair,
Northrop Grumman Corporation, Baltimore, Maryland
THOMAS L. MCNAUGHER, vice chair,
RAND Corporation, Washington, D.C.
ELIOT A. COHEN,
School of International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington D.C.
RICHARD A. CONWAY,
Union Carbide Corporation (retired), Charleston, West Virginia
GILBERT F. DECKER,
Walt Disney Imagineering, Glendale, California
PATRICK F. FLYNN,
Cummins Engine Company, Columbus, Indiana
EDWARD J. HAUG,
NADS and Simulation Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City
ROBERT J. HEASTON,
Guidance and Control Information Analysis Center (retired), Naperville, Illinois
ELVIN R. HEIBERG, III,
Heiberg Associates, Inc., Mason Neck, Virginia
GERALD J. IAFRATE,
University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
DONALD R. KEITH,
Cypress International, Alexandria, Virginia
KATHRYN V. LOGAN,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
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,
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
GEORGE T. SINGLEY, III,
Hicks & Associates, 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
MARGO L. FRANCESCO, Staff Associate
CHRIS JONES, Financial Associate
DEANNA SPARGER, Senior Project Assistant
Preface
The United States has maintained a stockpile of highly toxic chemical 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 into the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (CSDP), whose mission was to eliminate the entire stockpile of unitary chemical weapons. The CSDP developed the baseline incineration system for that purpose. Since 1987, the National Research Council (NRC), through its Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (Stockpile Committee), has overseen 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 of unitary chemical warfare agents and munitions by December 31, 2004.
In the 1970s, the Army had commissioned studies of different disposal technologies and tested several of them. In 1982, the Army selected incineration as the method it would use for the disposal of agents and associated propellants and explosives and the thermal decontamination of metal parts. In 1984, the NRC Committee on Demilitarizing Chemical Munitions and Agents reviewed a range of disposal technologies and endorsed the Army's selection of incineration. In response to public concerns about incineration and the evolution of other potential disposal technologies, the NRC has also carried out several evaluations of alternative technologies and recommended the development of chemical detoxification technologies for application at the two stockpile storage sites where chemical agent is stored only in bulk (with no energetically configured munitions).
Incineration technology is embodied in today's baseline incineration system, which was developed largely at the Chemical Agent Munitions Disposal System (CAMDS) experimental facility at Tooele Army Depot, Utah. The first full-scale operational plant, the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS), in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii, was completed in 1990 and is nearing the conclusion of chemical weapons disposal operations on Johnston Island. Construction of the first disposal facility in the continental United States was started in 1989 at the Tooele Army Depot (now Deseret Chemical Depot) in Utah. The design of the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (TOCDF) represents a second generation baseline system, which incorporates improvements based on experience with the JACADS facility, advances in technology, and recommendations made by the Stockpile Committee. Systemization testing began in August 1993, and agent operations began on August 22, 1996.
The Stockpile Committee has monitored operations at the TOCDF since the start-up of systemization. The following NRC reports were issued by the Stockpile Committee in its TOCDF oversight role:
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Review of Systemization of the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility
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Risk Assessment and Management at the Deseret Chemical Depot and the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility
Published in 1996, the Systemization report reviewed the status of the TOCDF as systemization (pre-operational) testing was nearing completion and the facility was about to start agent operations. The report contained several sets of recommendations: some that were general and continuing; some that were to be coordinated with the start of agent operations; some that were to be completed prior to agent operations; and some that were to be completed during the first year of agent operations. The more recent Risk Assessment and Management (1997) report addressed issues related to the quantitative and health risk assessments performed for the TOCDF and the adjacent storage site and the Army's implementation of a risk management plan.
Following up on the recommendations in the Systemization report and the Risk Assessment and Management report, this report reviews the status of the TOCDF after more than two years of agent operations. This report also follows up on relevant recommendations from earlier Stockpile Committee reports and a recent letter report, Public Involvement and the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program. The committee's intent is to document the Army's responses to these recommendations, noting which ones have been satisfactorily addressed and which ones have not been completely or adequately addressed. The latter group will provide a basis for the Stockpile Committee's oversight in the future. Although the focus of this report is on the TOCDF, some of the findings and recommendations also apply to other sites and to the CSDP as a whole.
The committee greatly appreciates the support and assistance of National Research Council staff members Donald L. Siebenaler, Harrison T. Pannella, William E. Campbell, Delphine D. Glaze, Margo L. Francesco, and Carol R. Arenberg, in the production of this report.
David S. Kosson, chair
Charles E. Kolb, vice chair
Committee On Review And Evaluation Of The Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program
Acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the authors and the NRC in making the 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 contents of 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 participation in the review of this report:
James G. Droppo, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Gene H. Dyer, Bechtel Corporation (retired)
B. John Garrick, Garrick Consulting
Erik B. Herzik, University of Nevada
Ronald A. Hites, Indiana University
David H. Johnson, PLG, Inc.
Noam Lior, University of Pennsylvania
Hyla Napadensky, Napadensky Energetics, Inc. (retired)
Lanny D. Schmidt, University of Minnesota
William Randall Seeker, Energy and Environmental Research Corporation
Kimberly M. Thompson, Harvard University
George W. Whitesides, Harvard University
John Wreathall, John Wreathall & Company
While the individuals listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, responsibility for the final content of this report rests solely with the authoring committee and the NRC.
Contents
Figures and Tables
Figures
1-1 |
Location and size (percentage of original stockpile) of eight continental U.S. storage sites |
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1-2 |
Schematic drawing of the TOCDF incineration system |
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4-1 |
TOCDF recordable injury rate (RIR) 12-month rolling average since the start of agent operations |
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4-2 |
TOCDF 12-month recordable injury rate (RIR) rolling average and monthly RIRs from January 1998 to December 1998 |
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4-3 |
Total injury 12-month rolling average for the TOCDF |
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5-1 |
PMCD's organizational elements directly related to risk management |
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A-1 |
Layout of the TOCDF |
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A-2 |
Rocket-handling system |
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A-3 |
Bulk handling system |
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A-4 |
Projectile-handling system |
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A-5 |
Mine-handling system |
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A-6 |
Deactivation furnace system |
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A-7 |
Metal parts furnace |
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A-8 |
Liquid incinerator |
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A-9 |
Dunnage furnace |
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A-10 |
Pollution abatement system |
Tables
1-1 |
NRC Recommendations Addressed in This Report |
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1-2 |
Site Visits and Briefings |
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2-1 |
Surrogate Trial Burns for LIC-2 in January 1996 |
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2-2 |
Surrogate Trial Burns for the MPF in June 1996 |
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2-3 |
Surrogate Trial Burns for the DFS in September 1995 |
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2-4 |
Agent Trial Burns of LIC-1 and LIC-2 |
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2-5 |
Measured LIC-1 and LIC-2 Emissions or Reported Upper Limits That Exceed Values Estimated in the HRA |
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2-6 |
Agent Trial Burns for the DFS in January 1997 |
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2-7 |
Measured DFS Emissions or Reported Upper Limits That Exceed Values Estimated in the HRA |
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2-8 |
Agent Trial Burns for the MPF in April 1997 |
Acronyms
ACAMS
automatic continuous air monitoring system
ATB
agent trial burn
BRA
brine reduction area
CAC
Citizens Advisory Commission
CAMDS
Chemical Agent Munitions Disposal System
CEMS
continuous emission monitoring system(s)
CMP
change management process
CSDP
Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program
CSEPP
Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program
CWC
Chemical Weapons Convention
DAAMS
depot area air monitoring system
DCD
Deseret Chemical Depot
DFS
deactivation furnace system
DRE
destruction removal efficiency
DSHW
Utah Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste
DUN
dunnage furnace
EG&G
Edgerton, Germerhausen and Grier
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
FEMA
Federal Emergency Management Agency
FTIR
Fourier transform infrared (spectrometer)
GA
tabun (a nerve agent)
GB
sarin (a nerve agent)
GC-MSD
gas chromatograph-mass spectrometric detector
H
nondistilled mustard
HD
distilled mustard
HRA
health risk assessment
HT
thickened mustard
ITEQ
International Toxic Equivalence
JACADS
Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal system
LIC
liquid incinerator
MPF
metal parts furnace
NRC
National Research Council
OSHA
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OVT
operational verification testing
PAS
pollution abatement system
PCB
polychlorinated biphenyl
PCDD/F
polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans
PFPD
pulsed-flame photometric detector
PFS
PAS carbon bed filter system
PLL
Programmatic Lessons Learned
PMCD
Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization
POIO
Public Outreach and Information Office
PQL
practical quantification limits
QRA
quantitative risk assessment
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
RIR
recordable injury rate
RMP
Risk Management Plan
SVOC
semivolatile organic compound
TOCDF
Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility
TSCA
Toxic Substances Control Act
VOC
volatile organic compound
VX
a nerve agent