Review and Evaluation of Alternative Technologies for Demilitarization of Assembled Chemical Weapons (1999) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
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Through Public Law 104-208, the new program manager was required to "identify and demonstrate not less than two alternatives to the baseline incineration process for the demilitarization of assembled chemical munitions." In addition, this law prohibited any obligation of funds for the construction of incineration facilities at two storage sites Richmond, Kentucky, and Pueblo, Colorado until the demonstrations had been completed and an assessment of the results had been submitted to Congress by DOD. ASSEMBLED CHEMICAL WEAPONS ASSESSMENT PROGRAM As a result of Public Laws 104-201 and 104-208.
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. In August 1997, after detailed evaluation criteria had been developed with extensive input from the Dialogue, the program manager for ACWA issued an REP calling for "a total system solution" for the destruction of assembled chemical weapons.
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PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE The most significant impetus for seeking alternative technologies to destroy assembled chemical weapons has been public opposition to incineration and support for alternatives by national activist groups and some members of the communities near the stockpile sites. These opponents have argued that the incineration of chemical weapons "presents an imminent threat to public health" in the event of a catastrophic failure, the release of small amounts of chemical warfare agent, and the emission of trace amounts of products of incomplete combustion, such as dioxin.
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s the particle size reduction of energetics that must be achieved for proper operation · the solubility of energetics in specific alkaline solutions · process design of the unit operation and the identification of processing parameters (such as the degree of agitation and reactor residence time) necessary for complete hydrolysis · the characterization of actual products and byproducts of hydrolysis as a function of the extent of reaction · the selection of chemical sensors and process control strategies to ensure that the unit operation following hydrolysis can accept the products of hydrolysis · development of a preventative maintenance program that minimizes the possibility of incidents during the cleanup of accumulated precipitates General Finding 3.
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An extraordinary commitment of resources will be necessary to complete the destruction of the assembled chemical weapons stockpile in time to meet the current deadline using any of the ACWA technology packages. This would demand a concerted national effort.
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7 General Recommendation 6. Simultaneous processing of different types of energetic materials should not be performed until there is substantial evidence that the intermediates formed from the hydrolysis of aromatic nitro compounds will not combine with M28 propellant additives or ordnance fuze components to form extremely sensitive explosives, such as lead picrate.
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General Recommendation 7. The Department of Defense should continue to support the Dialogue throughout the current ACWA program and should seriously consider the participation of the Dialogue in follow-on programs.
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