Workplace Chemical Monitoring - Occupational Health and Workplace Monitoring at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities - page 8

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Workplace Chemical Monitoring

MONITORING CONSIDERATIONS

cern. All sites will also produce agent hydrolysis prod-
ucts because of the common practice of using decon-
tamination solution (aqueous sodium hydroxide or so-
dium hypochlorite) to decontaminate equipment or to
clean up after agent spills. Each site will also produce
many other secondary wastes, including contaminated
carbon and demilitarization protective ensemble (DPE)
suits, tools, machinery, buildings (including concrete
walls and floors), sumps, and soils. Secondary wastes
will be similar at all sites and must be tested and ana-

Chemical monitoring involves repeated analyses for
chemicals that have the potential to affect the health
and well-being of workers, the public, or the environ-
ment. Substances of potential concern (SOPCs) at
chemical agent disposal facilities include chemical
agents, agent breakdown products, other munitions-
related chemicals and their decomposition products,
and other substances created or released during agent
processing or normal industrial repair or maintenance
activities. Proper monitoring and awareness of chemical
hazards are essential during all phases of operation—
construction, startup and testing, agent and munitions
destruction, and plant closure—and possibly even after
the Army has relinquished control of the facilities.
Monitoring is generally required both for disposal
processes and for maintenance activities when workers
can potentially be exposed, as well as for emissions
and wastes transported off site. SOPCs may be agents
or nonagents; they may be found in the plant, in out-
door air, in liquid process or effluent streams, on sur-
faces in the plant, or in solid waste materials. Table 2-1
shows a number of examples of media that may require
monitoring.
Although the nine U.S. stockpile storage/disposal
sites have some common monitoring needs, each site
also requires site-specific monitoring because of the
differences in the types of chemical agents and muni-
tions stored at each site and the technologies chosen for
their destruction. All nine sites require monitoring of
air and process waste streams for the agents being pro-
cessed and related agent breakdown products of con-

TABLE 2-1 Media That May Require
Chemical Monitoring

Agent or Agent

Media Phase Breakdown Products Nonagents

Air Plant air Plant air

Outdoor air Outdoor air

Stack exhaust a Stack exhaust a

Hydrolysate b SCWO effluent c Liquid

Decontamination solution Fuels

Brine Caustic solution

Solid Activated carbon Ash a

DPE d suits Soil

Soil Concrete

Concrete
Equipment and tools

a For sites with baseline incineration system.
b For Aberdeen and Newport.
c For Newport only.
d Demilitarization protective ensemble.

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