US D 101.2:T 61/998 Introduction The Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility is the first full-scale facility in the continental United States built to destroy chemical weapons and agent. Using the world's most advanced technology for chemical weapons disposal, the U.S. Army is committed to a partnership with Congress, federal agencies, state agencies, local officials and community residents to safely destroy the chemical weapons stockpile. The Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility began operations on August 22, 1996. The disposal of chemical weapons stored at the Deseret Chemical Depot will take several years to complete. Hundreds of skilled workers are focused on safely accomplishing this task. Only when all ch ical weapons and agent have been destroyed will the hazards of storing them be eliminated for the community, the workers and th!fD .KwnooUBRARY L:lr !" w· ' Ct..,. ·J c ~ J FALO \!'.; ..:. :....-': • Y • Tr·,_, environment. I·HJ V 1 9 1998 The Stockpile F orty-four percent of the nation1S original stockpile of chemical weapons and agent is stored at the Deseret Chemical Depot, approximately 22 miles from Tooele, Utah. The nerve agents GB, VX and blister agent (mustard) are stored in quantities ranging from large bulk containers to small mines. The bulk containers and weapons are housed in earth-covered igloos in a secure storage area near the disposal facility. Some weapon..:--m rockets and artillery projectiles-are stored with their explosive components. Bombs, mortar rounds and spray tanks are stored without explosive components. The Plant S ituated on 36 acres, the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility is a state-of-theart facility engineered with specially designed weapons handling processes, remote-controlled disposal equipment, complex control systems and detailed procedures and training to protect the workers and the environment. Thousands of pieces of sophisticated remotecontrolled and robotic equipment are used to process the chemical munitions. Electrical wire-840 miles of it-winds its way through the complex. There are 33 miles of piping and 16,000 valves and instruments lining the plant. PLANT DESIGN The technology used in the plant is based on years of experience and advances developed from operating the Chemical Agent Munitions Disposal System, a test facility also located at the Deseret Chemical Depot, and the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System located in the Pacific Ocean. Using the lessons learned at these two facilities, additional safety features have been built into the design of the Tooele plant, including multiple backup systems, to safeguard the workers and contain any hazardous material. For example, the air filtration system protects workers and the environment by constantly moving air from areas without agent, to areas with agent, and then through charcoal filters. This negative air pressure system guarantees both clean air for the workers and total containment of agent. Before the plant was allowed to begin operations it went through a lengthy process called systemization, which tests the reliability and efficiencies of all the equipment and workers. Systemization ensures that individual equipment components operate as designed and integrate correctly with all other equipment, sensors, robotics, conveyors and controls within the system. More than 650 skilled scientists, engineers and technicians operate and maintain the plant. Much of the training in disposal operations is provided at the U.S. Army Chemical Demilitarization Training Facility in Maryland. The plant workers must complete the training and demonstrate their proficiency before they are allowed to operate the equipment or handle the munitions. Training of personnel is ongoing throughout disposal operations. When the stockpile is destroyed, the Army plans to dismantle the plant in accordance with congressional guidelines. The Disposal Process T he disposal process begins with transportation from the storage area. The chemical weapons are placed in specially designed protective containers and transported a short distance to the plant. The containers are monitored for chemical leaks before they are unpacked for disassembly. Disassembly separates the agent, metal parts and explosive components of the weapon. Each component is destroyed separately in incinerators expressly designed to ensure safe destruction and decontamination. A pollution abatement system for each incinerator ensures that the exhaust meets strict legal requirements for release to the environment. The entire process is overseen by control room operators using computer interactive sensors and video cameras to safely monitor the plant processes. DISASSEMBLY AND DRAIN All munitions with explosive components are carefully loaded onto a conveyor and sent to a special thick-walled explosive containment room. Automated equipment punctures and drains the chemica l agent from the rockets before shearing them into pieces. All rocket parts and explosive components go directly to the Deactivation Furnace. For mortars or projectiles, special machines remove explosive components, leaving the agent inside. Now that these weapons are no longer explosive, they are moved to an area where chemical agent is drained from them. All bulk containers and non-explosive munitions bypass the explosive containment room and are d rained. The drained agent is stored in tanks for disposal later in the Liquid Incinerator. The metal parts remaining from these weapons are thermally decontaminated by processing them through the Metal Parts Furnace. POLLUTION CONTROLS The exhaust gases from all these processes are treated by pollution abatement systems to remove industrial pollutants formed during incineration. These pollution abatement systems cool the exhaust gas, scrub out acid gases, and remove small particles before it is released to the environment. Protecting the Environment T he Army has pledged to protect the environment by adhering to or surpassing a ll environmental requirements pertaining to the safe destruction of chemical weapons . The plant systems protect the environment by cleaning the air and decontaminating the solid wastes produced. The pollution abatement systems ensure that the facility emissions meet or exceed all federal , state and local standards. Air is constantly tested inside the plant and inside the stack to verify that there is no detectable agent present. Air inside the plant is measured by approximately 100 state-of-theart monitors that continually check the air and sound off an alert if any agent is detected. The stack exhausts are also monitored using two different types of monitors. These can measure agent at the parts per trillion level to make sure that plant emissions are well below the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended limits. If any agent is detected inside the stack, the plant will immediately shut down so that the cause can be determined and the problem can be co rrected. WASTE STREAMS All wastes produced by the facility are disposed of in an environmentally safe manner. Ash, metal parts and fiberglass from the furnaces are packaged and transported to approved landfills. No process liquid wastes are discharged from the facility. Liquid brine resulting from treatment of exhaust gases in the pollution control system is dried to reduce the volume for disposal and sent to approved landfills. Ther~ally decontaminated metal parts, certified agent-free, will be recycled. Oversight T he Army is responsible and committed to the American people for the safe destruction of all chemical weapons. Numerous federal, state and local agencies have oversight responsibilities for the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program. Congress, the House Appropriations Committee Surveys and Investigations Team, and the General Accounting Office all review the progress and expenditures of the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program. • The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences guides the technical aspects of the program. • The Department of Health and Human Services oversees public health issues. • The Environmental Protection Agency, the Council on Environmental Quality, and each state regulate and inspect the facilities in their jurisdictions on the environmental aspects of the program to ensure compliance. • State and county officials join with local communities to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army to administer their own emergency preparedness requirements for the chemical weapons stockpile storage and disposal programs. • Local residents become involved through their state's governor-appointed Citizens' Advisory Commission to ensure that their voices are heard regarding the disposal of the chemical stockpile in their community. •on rogram. anager for Chemical Outre ch and lnformatjo Office, Ground, MD 21010-5401 800-488-0648 or mical Stockpile 0 nra~n in Street, Tooele, UT (435) 882-3773 or at www-pmcd.ap