Chemical Weapons Demilitarization and Disposal
It is estimated that more than 215 U.S. sites may contain buried Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel that would need to be disposed of when recovered. The U.S. Army Project Manager for Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel has the responsibility for the destruction and disposal of these items.
Noblis is committed to helping the U.S. Army's Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization in its goal of maintaining the highest level of excellence in this important program. Noblis has been an integral part of the Army’s Non-Stockpile Chemical Material Project (NSCM) since its inception, helping to provide technical expertise in support of the development, testing and deployment of effective NSCM destruction systems.
The Army selected Noblis for this task because it needed a partner that had the technical expertise to evaluate state-of-the-art disposal technologies and could also provide expertise and counsel with total conflict-free objectivity. Our contributions include:
- Assessments of public and environmental risk associated with various transport and disposal options
- Evaluation and selection of demilitarization/disposal technologies
- Process modeling, testing, and evaluation
- Process safety engineering
Support to the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment
In 1996, the Congress and the President, responding to public concerns about the safe destruction of chemical weapons, established and later expanded the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) Program (Public Laws 104-208, 105-261, and 106-79). Through ACWA, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) was charged with identifying and demonstrating two or more alternative technologies to incineration. The Program Manager for ACWA established the Dialogue on Assembled Chemical Weapon Assessment; the Dialogue is a novel approach designed to integrate the input of communities, regulators, and other concerned parties into the process of developing criteria and assessing alternative technologies so that decisions are technically sound and publicly acceptable.
The ACWA program completed three demonstrations of alternative technologies in 1999 (Demonstration I) and submitted a Supplemental Report to Congress in October 1999. The program completed demonstrations of three more alternative technologies in 2000 (Demonstration II) and submitted another Supplemental Report to Congress in March 2001. These report concluded that four alternatives to incineration could successfully destroy assembled chemical weapons.
Noblis' contributions to the ACWA program include:
- Providing technical expertise to assist PM-ACWA during the process of developing criteria and assessing alternative technologies
- Supporting the procurement process used by PM-ACWA to conduct the demonstration of alternative technologies
- Supporting the evaluation of the technology demonstrations and the final recommendations to Congress
- Supporting improved communication throughout PMACWA of plans, technical data, and assessments by providing both technical and public web sites
- Providing technical and analytical support for PMACWA's Environmental Team, the Engineering Design Studies (EDS), and acquisition strategies for potential pilot operations of alternative technologies
Conventional Weapons Demilitarization and Disposal
Building upon our experience with chemical weapons demilitarization and disposal, Noblis has recently begun to provide support to the U.S. Army's Industrial Operations Command located in Rock Island, Illinois, as it seeks to develop new and environmentally responsible ways to destroy obsolete conventional munitions besides open burning and open detonation.