Impact of revised airborne exposure limits on non-stockpile chemical materiel program activities

1 INTRODUCTION9 Announcement of New Airborne Exposure Limits, 9 The Chemical Weapons Convention, 10 The Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Disposal Program, 11 Nature and Extent of Sites for Non-Stockpile Items, 11 Former CWM Production Facilities, 11 Mobile Treatment Systems, 11 Mobile Systems Use and Monitoring Requirements, 12 Background, 13 Overview of New Airborne Exposure Limits, 13 Units for Airborne Concentration Levels, 14 Applicability to Non-Stockpile Monitoring Environments, 14 Non-Stockpile Sites Addressed, 14 Statement of Task, 14 Sources of Information, 15 Structure of This Report, 15 2 A NON-STOCKPILE FACILITY AND TWO MOBILE TREATMENT SYSTEMS16 Former Production Facility at Newport, Indiana, 16 Condition of the NECD Facility Buildings, 16 VX Exposure Issues, 16 Personal Protective Equipment and Worker Operations, 18 Issues Surrounding Pipe Removal, 18 Initial Piping and Equipment Demolition Procedures, 22 Modifications to Demolition Procedures, 23 Air Monitoring and Personal Protective Equipment, 24 Explosive Destruction Systems, 26 General, 26 EDS Workforce Tasks and Workforce Protection, 27 Secondary Containment, 27 Monitoring for Protection of the EDS Workforce, 29 Monitoring for Protection of the General Population, 31 Rapid Response System, 32 General, 32 Equipment and Operations, 32 RRS Workforce Tasks and Workforce Protection, 33 Current RRS Monitoring Procedures and Experience, 33 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. 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Impact of Revised Airborne Exposure Limits on Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Program Activities http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11261.html xii CONTENTS 3 OLD AND NEW AIRBORNE EXPOSURE LIMITS37 Basis for Establishment of Airborne Exposure Limits for Nerve Agents GA, GB, and VX, 37 Basis for Establishment of Airborne Exposure Limits for Mustard Agent, 40 Impact of the Revised AELs on Worker and Public Safety, 42 4 AIR MONITORING SYSTEMS43 Systems Used to Monitor at the 1988/1997 AELs, 43 MINICAMS, 44 DAAMS, 48 Other Monitoring Systems (A/DAM), 50 Ability of Systems Used for Monitoring at the 1988/1997 AELs to Monitor at the 2003/2004 AELs, 51 MINICAMS, 51 DAAMS, 52 A/DAM, 54 Alternative Technologies for Monitoring at the 2003/2004 AELs, 54 Alarm Levels for Near-Real-Time Monitors, 56 5 PROCESS IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW AELS62 Newport Chemical Depot, 62 Impact on the Operations of Mobile Treatment Systems, 62 EDS Operations, 62 RRS Operations, 64 Decontamination of Agent-Contaminated Materials: The X Requirement, 64 6 REGULATORY APPROVAL AND PERMITTING, AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT 66 Introduction, 66 Regulatory Programs, 66 Worker Protection, 66 Protection of Human Health and the Environment, 67 Worker Protection Standards and RCRA Integration Issues, 67 Using Lower Alarm Levels and Reportable Limits, 68 Relationship of AELs to the RCRA Contingency Plan, 68 Public Involvement, 69 REFERENCES 71 APPENDIXES A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members 75 B Non-Stockpile Inventories79 C Committee Meetings and Other Activities82 D Approved Personal Protective Equipment84 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. 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Impact of Revised Airborne Exposure Limits on Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Program Activities http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11261.html xiii Figures, Tables, and Box FIGURES 2-1 Former VX production facility at NECD, 17 2-2 Level B PPE, 18 2-3 Level C PPE, 19 2-4 Level D PPE, 19 2-5 Structure of VX and EA-2192, 20 2-6 Diagram of the EDS-1 vessel on its trailer, 26 2-7 Typical EDS deployment layout, 29 2-8 Side view of RRS operations trailer, 32 2-9 RRS exhaust air filtration system, 34 4-1 MINICAMS and DAAMS operating ranges for the 1988/1997 GB AELs and required ranges for the CDC’s 2003 GB AELs, 47 4-2 MINICAMS and DAAMS operating ranges for the 1988/1997 VX AELs and required ranges for the CDC’s 2003 VX AELs, 48 4-3 MINICAMS and DAAMS operating ranges for the 1988 HD AELs and required ranges for the CDC’s 2004 HD AELs, 49 TABLES ES-1 Types of Airborne Exposure Limits, 2 ES-2 1988 and 2003/2004 CDC-Recommended Airborne Exposure Limits for the Nerve Agents GA, GB, and VX (2003) and Sulfur Mustard (HD) (2004), 3 1-1 Types of Airborne Exposure Limits, 10 1-2 1988 and 2003/2004 CDC-Recommended Airborne Exposure Limits for the Nerve Agents GA, GB, and VX (2003) and Sulfur Mustard (HD) (2004), 13 1-3 Equivalent Unit Nomenclatures for AEL Concentrations, 14 2-1 Types of PPE Currently Employed at the NECD Former VX Production Facility, 18 2-2 VX Airborne Exposure Limits (Effective January 1, 2005), 24 2-3 Available PPE Approved for Use at the NECD Former Production Facility, 25 2-4 General EDS Explosive Containment Vessel Specifications, 27 2-5 Usage Data for the EDS, 28 2-6 Personal Protective Equipment Levels, 29 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Impact of Revised Airborne Exposure Limits on Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Program Activities http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11261.html xiv FIGURES, TABLES, AND BOX 3-1 1988 and 2003 CDC-Recommended AELs and 2003 Acute Exposure Guidelines (AEGLs) for GA, GB, and VX, 37 3-2 1988 and 2004 CDC-Recommended AELs and 2003 AEGLs for Sulfur Mustard (HD), 40 4-1 TWA Concentrations Reported by Two Different MINICAMS for 1.00-TWA Challenges Made During 4 Weeks of Operation (August 2004), 58 5-1 EDS and RRS Containment Features, 63 B-1 Inventory of Non-Stockpile Items at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, 80 B-2 Inventory of Non-Stockpile Items at Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) and Deseret Chemical Depot (DCD), Utah, 81 B-3 Inventory of Non-Stockpile Items at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, 81 B-4 Inventory of Non-Stockpile Items at Anniston Chemical Activity, Alabama, 81