Baltimore Sun
July 17, 2003

Army Answers Questions from Maryland Residents about Disposal of Chemicals

Source: The Baltimore Sun, Maryland
Publication date: 2003-07-17

Jul. 17--Army officials fielded questions last night from a handful of community residents at the Edgewood Senior Center about problems workers have encountered in recent months in destroying World War II-vintage chemical weapons stored near the Bush River.

Since work started in April to rid the base of a 1,600-ton stockpile of mustard agent -- a banned, blistering substance with the consistency of molasses -- several problems have cropped up at the destruction plant, including a power outage and low-level releases of vapor inside the plant.

"It hasn't gone quite as well as we would like it to," said Brian O'Donnell, deputy site manager for the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

He said the biggest challenge has been decontaminating the containers after they are drained. Aging paint on the exterior is believed to be absorbing mustard agent, and traces have been found in the threads of the drain plugs on the face of the 1-ton containers, O'Donnell said.

Officials say APG is the first military site in the country to destroy the agent by neutralization -- mixing it vigorously with hot water and breaking it down. The method was devised by APG scientists after pressure from the community to find an alternative to incineration.

The destruction originally was scheduled for completion by 2006, but security concerns after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks led Army officials to speed the timetable.

The agent destruction is scheduled to wrap up in November, O'Donnell said, but he added that recent problems might push back the date.

The byproduct of the neutralization process, called hydrolysate, consists mainly of water and thiodiglycol, an industrial chemical, as well as traces of volatile organic compounds. The hydrolysate is being shipped off-site for treatment using bacterial sludge at DuPont's Chamber Works plant in Deepwater, N.J.

Rob Chetelat of Edgewood said he attended last night's meeting to hear about the waste being shipped off-site because the trucks pass within two blocks of his house.

"My biggest concern has been, 'What happens if?'" he said, referring to the possibility of an accident.

The plant is operating around the clock and has destroyed about 50 tons of mustard agent, O'Donnell said last night.