Medical Aspects of Chemical Warfare (2008) - The Black Vault

Medical Aspects of Chemical Warfare• Ratification of the multilateral ChemicalWeapons Convention treaty in April 1997required the destruction of the weapons byApril 2007, with an extension to April 2012,if necessary.• The need for the stockpile no longer exists.• The stockpile is slowly deteriorating withage.• The stockpile is a potential target for terrorism.In 1988 the US Army chose incineration as themethod of destruction for the stockpile because itallows safe treatment of all the components of achemical weapon, including the agent, fuses, bursters,explosives, motors, metal parts, and metal bodies.The prototype incineration destruction plant for lethalagents, the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent DestructionSystem, was erected on Johnston Island in the SouthPacific. The plant completed its mission in 2000 afterdestroying more than 2,000 tons of chemical agents and410,000 chemical munitions. Incineration is currentlyin use at four of the storage depots: Deseret, Anniston,Umatilla, and Pinebluff. All destruction facilities wereengineered with redundant safety features designedto prevent the release of agent. The US Public HealthService reviews plans and monitors operations of thesechemical destruction plants. The appropriate stateenvironmental authorities must issue permits beforeincineration can begin.During the incineration process, the agent and allmetal parts are destroyed at 2,700 ° F. Exhaust gasesare passed through extensive, state-of-the-art pollutioncontrol systems, including a pollution abatementfiltration system. Personnel dismantle the weaponsin explosive containment rooms designed to withstanddetonation. Explosives are separated from theliquid agent and metal parts with each waste streamand destroyed in separate furnaces. Unconfined explosivesare consumed in the fire. The solid residueremaining from ash, fiberglass, and wooden dunnageis evaluated for contamination and transported toapproved landfills. Brine (a by-product waste) ispackaged and also sent to approved landfills. Thereis no water discharge resulting from the incinerationprocess. Stack effluent must meet all requirementsof the Clean Air Act, 19 especially the amendmentspassed in 1970, 20 1977, 21 and 1990 22 (these last threeversions were codified in the US Code in 1990 23 ).Special precautions have been taken to reduce andeliminate the formation of furans and dioxans fromthe incineration process. Discharges from the stackare continuously monitored to ensure that the CleanAir Act requirements are met. Even though the possibilityof an event leading to the contamination of anarea surrounding a community is remote, extensiveplanning and preparation have been accomplished.The US Army and the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency have jointly enhanced the emergencypreparedness of these communities.Despite the extensive precautions in building thedestruction plants, the Chemical Stockpile EmergencyPreparedness Program and the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency are working with emergencyresponders to enhance their capabilities. Through theChemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program,first responders and emergency management officialsare trained to manage chemical casualties specific tothe installation. Extensive security and safety measureshave been adopted to avoid accidents or incidentsinvolving chemical agents and chemical surety. Somecontainers are transported in large overpack containers(a container within a heavier container) designed towithstand an explosion and stored in an igloo (a storagebuilding topped with, for example, 3 to 4 ft of earthand concrete). These measures have been strengthenedagainst acts of terrorism since the attacks on the UnitedStates on September 11, 2001.The US Army has also investigated and developedalternatives to incineration. The Alternative Technologiesand Approaches Project developed and implementedneutralization disposal technologies of bulkcontainer stocks of the nerve agent VX in Newport,Indiana, and the blister agent HD (mustard gas) atthe Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground. Destructionof VX was carried out with sodium hydroxideand hot water. Destruction of HD was accomplishedby neutralization followed by biotreatment involvingthe microbial destruction of biodegradable organicmaterial, such as thiodiglycol found in the hydrolysate.As of fall 2006, the Army has neutralized 100% of thestockpile at the Aberdeen Proving Ground facility andas of May 2008, 90% of the stockpile at the Newportfacility. The Aberdeen facility was officially closed inJune 2007. 24The Assembled Chemical Weapons AlternativesProgram is responsible for the safe destruction ofchemical weapons stockpiles at Pueblo, Colorado,and Blue Grass, Kentucky. Neutralization followedby biotreatment was selected for the Pueblo stockpile;neutralization followed by supercritical water oxidationwill be used to destroy the Blue Grass stockpile.Construction of full-scale pilot test disposal facilitiesis underway in both states.Critics of the Army’s high-temperature incinerationbelieve that the method is undesirable. The disagreementamong scientific experts and the concerns ofpeople surrounding the eight US depots have creatednumerous debates over the chemical agent destruction610