More Tests Are Needed at Chemical Arms Disposal Plant

At the request of the Army, a National Research Council committee has reported that the design for the pilot plant to destroy chemical weapons at the Army’s Blue Grass depot near Richmond, Ky., includes all steps necessary for safe and effective destruction. However, the committee also has concluded that the Army’s contractor—a joint venture of Bechtel National and Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Group—has yet to integrate and test these steps. The munitions stored at Blue Grass are to be destroyed by neutralization (hydrolysis), followed by supercritical water oxidation. The secondary step is very corrosive to the walls of supercritical water reactors and can result in the formation of solid materials that can plug the reactors, the committee reported. The committee found that methods developed to minimize this problem require further testing to confirm that they are sufficient. The committee also found that these reactors have yet to be tested on such contaminated secondary wastes as storage, packing materials, and protective suiting worn by workers. For uncontaminated secondary wastes that have never been in contact with chemical agents, the committee recommended they be sent to qualified, off-site waste disposal facilities.