The first of two rounds of testing on the Army's chemical weapons incinerator earlier this year were successful, according to a report given to The Anniston Star Tuesday.
During a series of trial runs in March, the facility's liquid incinerator destroyed more than 99.9999 percent of surrogate materials that are harder to destroy than nerve agent. This furnace, one of three that make up the facility, is designed to destroy nerve and blister agent drained from weapons and containers stored at the Anniston Army Depot.
An important hurdle before testing on actual agent, the surrogate trial burns test the facility on its ability to destroy industrial compounds while staying under emissions standards.
The findings of the report, which are amassed in 17 thick volumes that trace the performance of the incinerator in detail, are being evaluated by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Following its review, ADEM will issue either an approval or a notice of deficiency.
The Army also has released an executive summary of the larger report, stating that the incinerator surpassed the destruction and removal efficiency prescribed by the state hazardous waste incineration permit.
"The summary follows pretty closely the surrogate trial burn plans and what they set out as their objectives," said Justin Martindale, a staff engineer in ADEM's hazardous waste section. "It appears they met the objectives."
Still, Martindale said, the raw data from the burns will be examined by officials tasked with checking the Army's mathematical calculations and data-collection methods.
"This is a pretty cumbersome process," he said, adding that the department has about 45 days to do it.
Martindale said that ADEM has yet to approve a proposed plan for the incinerator without comment, and indeed there are a few indications in the executive summary that department comment will be needed on this report. Martindale, however, was unwilling to comment in detail until he has reviewed the whole report.
For instance, the surrogate trial burn performance did not demonstrate that vinyl chloride emissions were below allowable levels. Army spokesman Mike Abrams said this was because "We're challenging the equipment to find a single element that's so easily masked and so small, that it's almost impossible."
He said he expected the state to ask incinerator management to perform modeling.
Lead emissions, the summary said, were high with the pollution filtration system turned off, one of three conditions the incinerator tested on. However, Abrams said, the incinerator met interim standards adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency on semivolatile metals, such as lead and cadmium.
Overall, he said, the Army was happy with the report. "To the best of my knowledge," Abrams said, "it demonstrates that the liquid incinerator is up to the task."
Said ADEM's Martindale, "I can't say I wasn't impressed with the relative ease they had."
The long-delayed report was compiled by a private contractor, but was examined by incinerator management. Initially expected 30 days after the conclusion of the burns on March 23, the report made its way to ADEM's Montgomery office only last week.
Army spokesman Abrams said the Army missed its self-imposed deadline on filing the report because of the immensity and complexity of the information.
"There was much more work involved in handling the draft than they anticipated," he said.
In May, surrogate testing was performed on the deactivation furnace system, which was designed to destroy the metal parts and explosives. A report on those burns has not yet been completed.
