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Agents & Ammo in Depth Hydrolysate: Wastewater Byproduct of CW Neutralization

Hydrolysate: Wastewater Byproduct of CW Neutralization

Hydrolysate is a wastewater byproduct of a chemical agent neutralization process called caustic hydrolysis. This technology was developed as an alternative to incineration as a means for destroying chemical weapons. However, the caustic byproduct, hydrolysate, produced by hydrolysis must also be eliminated.

Currently, the Army has elected to transport hydrolysate waste to off-site facilities for final treatment. This involves shipping the neutralized chemical agent – or hydrolysate – across state lines to be incinerated. Activists have argued, unsuccessfully so far, that transporting hydrolysate poses health and environmental risks, and violates federal laws.

The Army’s preferred technology for destroying of chemical weapons is incineration. Rigorous tests and technology comparisons have determined that incineration is the safest and most efficient method for treating and disposing of various types of chemical weapons. This technology has been in use since 1979, and incineration techniques have been employed at Johnston Atoll, the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Alabama, the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Arkansas, the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Utah, and at the Umatilla Chemical Agency Disposal Facility in Oregon.

However, when plans were announced for the incineration of nerve agent (VX) weapons stored at the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana, many local residents expressed fears over the potential for accidents. After conducting extensive research to evaluate alternative technologies for destroying chemical agent, a two-step neutralization process was identified which involved a chemical reaction called hydrolysis. Three independent groups agreed that neutralization could be used to destroy bulk agent stockpiles while meeting all of the legal and regulatory requirements for safety, environmental protection, and cost effectiveness.

The term “hydrolysis” refers to a type of chemical reaction in which a compound reacts with water and is broken down into other compounds. During the chemical agent neutralization process, the agent to be destroyed is drained from its storage containers into large steel reactors where it is mixed with a solution of water and sodium hydroxide. The mixture is heated and a reaction takes place in which the agent’s molecules are cleaved into smaller, non-lethal compounds. The end solution containing these compounds is called hydrolysate, which has caustic and corrosive properties. Before any hydrolysate is moved from a destruction facility, laboratory analysis must confirm that the wastewater is “non-detect” for chemical agent.

In the interest of cost-effectiveness, the Army signed a contract with a private company in Texas to incinerate the hydrolysate generated by the Newport Chemical Disposal Facility rather than destroy it on site. Activist groups, including the Sierra Club and the Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG), sought to block the transport of hydrolysate across state lines, arguing that such transport would pose environmental risks and violate federal law as well as the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). A federal judge ruled in favor of the Army, however, declaring that it had "sought and received scientific advice” on the safety of transporting the hydrolysate off-site for final treatment.

U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (CMA) spokesperson Greg Mahall stated that, “We remain steadfast in our belief that what we are doing is safe, legal and protective of our workers, our communities and our environment while safeguarding taxpayer dollars and meeting international obligations." The Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility completed the destruction of its VX stockpile in early August 2008, and hydrolysate shipments are scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2008.

The completion of the hydrolysate shipments from Newport will not put an end to the controversy, however. Mustard agent stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado is scheduled to be destroyed over the coming years. Whereas the initial Department of Defense plan was to treat all resulting waste on site, and a waste treatment facility is already under construction at Pueblo, Pentagon officials are now exploring the option of shipping the hydrolysate generated at Pueblo off-site to reduce costs.

Local officials have been arguing for on-site treatment, pointing to the threat of delays that could be caused by potential litigation in addition to the environmental risk incurred when transporting hazardous materials. In February, a Colorado senator introduced legislation (S. 2656) that would prohibit transporting hydrolysate from the facility “to an off-site location for treatment, storage or disposal." The bill has stalled since its introduction.