CAIS Vials and Bottles

Finding The RRS is an expensive but adequate treatment system for CAIS PIGs and large numbers of loose CAIS vials and bottles. As other treatment options are also possible, this category appears to be well covered (Finding 2-7). 

PMNSCM is developing the single CAIS accessing and neutralization system (SCANS) to treat individual CAIS vials and bottles recovered at remote sites. When fully developed, this system should be well suited to this task. 

Recommendation The committee recommends that PMNSCM continue to develop and optimize SCANS to increase the number of CAIS vials and bottles that can be cost-effectively treated with multiple SCANS units. If the development program results in a system that can be cost-effectively used for a large number of vials and bottles, the system should be fielded as rapidly as possible. This approach would allow reserving the RRS for treating very large numbers of CAIS and PIGs containing CAIS, which the SCANS cannot process (Recommendation 2-8). 

Some components of CAIS sets, such as lewisite, charcoal, and neat chloroform, have never been introduced into the EDS, and it is possible that treatment procedures might have to be modified to accommodate these materials. Testing would need to verify that treatment goals can be met. However, the committee does not anticipate that any serious difficulties would be encountered in treating CAIS vials and bottles in the EDS. 

The SCANS reactor is a small, disposable container used to access and treat individual CAIS vials or bottles containing chemical agents (see Figure 1-3).14 Its process chemistry is similar to that of the RRS neutralization. It is intended for use only where a limited number (80 or fewer) of loose CAIS vials or glass bottles are recovered. Because SCANS does not have the glove box necessary to open a CAIS PIG safely, it could not be used for destruction of a CAIS PIG. The SCANS is a hand-held device. It requires neither the elaborate system of trailers that supports the RRS nor its large operating crew. It is a relatively inexpensive destruction system. 

Single CAIS Accessing and Neutralization System (SCANS) (in design) Small reactor in which individual CAIS vials or bottles can be crushed and neutralized... 

The Army is developing the SCANS (see Figure 2-3) to serve as a disposable neutralization reactor (i.e., a small pressure vessel) to treat individual CAIS vials or bottles. The SCANS could be deployed quickly to sites with only a limited number of CAIS vials or bottles, thus avoiding the time and expense associated with deployment of the RRS. 

The SCANS requires further engineering development, especially with regard to materials of construction pressure, temperature, and reagent requirements and selection and design of a breaker rod or similar system. Nevertheless, if it performs as anticipated, it should be an attractive and cost-effective system for treating a small number of individual CAIS vials or bottles. Further, the committee sees no reason the system could not be used at sites where larger numbers (e.g., dozens) of CAIS vials or botdes are found. 

Because SCANS is expected to use the same basic neutralization and secondary waste treatment processes as the RRS, public concerns about the two are expected to be similar. However, SCANS provides a much faster response capability than does the RRS and a much smaller deployment footprint. These features are expected to be viewed as advantages by local public stakeholders at sites where individual CAIS vials or bottles are recovered. 

Finding 2-8. The committee anticipates that SCANS will be a useful device, relatively low in cost compared with the RRS. If and when this potential is realized, several, and perhaps dozens, of SCANS units could be used to destroy the same number of CAIS vials or bottles safely, thus avoiding the time and expense of deploying the RRS. 

Preliminary results on the direct destruction of simulated CAIS vials in a batch SCWO reactor appear promising however, it remains unclear how widely applicable this approach is to the range of vials and bottles (and the wide range of vial contents) that make up CAIS sets (NRC, 1999a). Direct treatment of CAIS in a batch SCWO has the advantage that no secondary waste streams that require further treatment would be generated however, the cost-effectiveness of this approach, especially relative to the SCANS plus secondary waste treatment, is unclear. 

Two developmental systems could also be used. First, the SCANS system for on-site disposal of individual CAIS vials or bottles is under development specifically for this category. The benefit of SCANS is that it is designed to be an efficient treatment system that can be used if an RRS or EDS is not available for relocation to the site of the CAIS find and if transportation in an MRC is not allowed by the receiving state. SCANS may be a worthwhile alternative disposal option that can save the expense and time of transporting an RRS or EDS to the site. Second, if the development and permitting of the Donovan blast chamber (DBC) are completed, this system could be used for the disposal of loose CAIS, with the DBC transported to the CAIS or the CAIS... 

GPR has the advantages of deep penetration (up to 30 feet or more) in soil or water, and a visual picture as compared to a metal detector or magnetometer. The GPR can also see glass chemical carboys, bottles, and potentially a quantity of CAIS, which are usually small glass vials in cardboard boxes. 

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