U.S. Army 'Heats' Weapons into Plowshares

There are some things that cannot be spit-polished and cleaned, even in the Army. The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (CMA) recently completed decontaminating and recycling more than 6.5 million pounds of steel chemical weapons containers.

In September 2003, CMA began operations at the Pine Bluff Ton Container Decontamination Facility in Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas, for the purpose of decontaminating 4,307 ton-containers (TCs) that had been stored at the arsenal. Although the containers were empty, each 1,600-pound steel tub previously had held hazardous materials and required sanitization to eliminate any residual chemicals prior to recycling.

Rinsing out the containers was the first thing CMA tried, unsuccessfully. The residual chemical agent proved difficult to remove, and worse if the agency were to try to rinse the containers again, it would produce an additional 660,000 gallons of hazardous liquid waste in the process.

CMA personnel rose to the challenge. They designed a magnetic induction heating process that would decontaminate up to 10 containers simultaneously. The process used an electrically energized copper coil, wrapped around the TCs, to generate a magnetic field that was absorbed by the iron in the containers. After the temperature of the TCs was raised to more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the containers were kept superheated for an hour, to destroy all chemical agents. The decontamination process also featured a carefully designed pollution abatement system to capture any residual material vented from the TCs.

“The decision to decontaminate these legacy containers using magnetic induction heating made the recycling of the containers possible,” said Laurence Gottschalk, CMA’s project manager for Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel. “We greatly reduced the overall safety risk and environmental impact by using this simplified process—adopting a one-and-done method that reduced the amount of secondary waste generated to a minimum. Instead of taking up significant space in a landfill indefinitely, we found a solution that benefits our environment and the community.”

The 6.5 million pounds of steel—equivalent to the size and heft of the Saturn V rocket— that finally were sent to a recycling center exemplify the Army’s commitment to protect the environment, as well as CMA’s history of commitment to ridding the nation of chemical weapons, according to officials.

Carmen Spencer, deputy assistant secretary of the army (Elimination of Chemical Weapons), noted, “CMA’s decades of expertise and success in eliminating chemical warfare materiel ranks the highest in the world. This effort reinforces CMA’s commitment to protecting the environment and creating a safer tomorrow.”

The project is in keeping with CMA’s strong commitment to safety, added Conrad Whyne, CMA Director. “It’s not every day that a single project achieves such high marks in waste reduction and recycling efforts, while eliminating significant hazardous waste risks,” Mr. Whyne said.

The U.S. Army Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Project, a part of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, leads the nation in the assessment and treatment of recovered chemical warfare materials. For more information, visit the NSCMP website.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.