Chemical Weapons: Issues Involving Destruction Technologies (Testimony,
04/26/94, GAO/T-NSIAD-94-159).

The most feasible technological alternatives to the incineration of
chemical weapons are in the initial stages of development and are more
than a decade away from becoming fully operational.  It is unlikely that
any of these technologies will be ready in time to destroy the entire
U.S. chemical weapons stockpile by the December 2204 deadline.  Any of
these alternative technologies could not, by itself, dispose of an
entire chemical weapon.  As a result, multiple technologies would have
to be developed and tested. Because the alternative technologies are in
the earliest stages of development, cost estimates are either
nonexistent or unreliable. Similarly, their performance cannot be
compared with that of incineration.  GAO did, however, identify
advantages and disadvantages to each technology.  This testimony also
discusses the operational safety of the Army's incineration facility on
Johnston Atoll and the cryofracture process, which involves soaking
munitions in liquid oxygen to make them brittle.  The munitions are then
crushed in a large hydraulic press before being incinerated.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-NSIAD-94-159
     TITLE:  Chemical Weapons: Issues Involving Destruction Technologies
      DATE:  04/26/94
   SUBJECT:  Army facilities
             Chemical warfare
             Munitions
             Property disposal
             Waste disposal
             Hazardous substances
             Environmental impact statements
             Cost analysis
             Safety standards
             Research and development
IDENTIFIER:  Johnston Atoll
             Pueblo (CO)
             Army Chemical Munitions Stockpile Disposal Program
             Chemical Weapons Convention
             
------------------------------------------------------------------------

We regret that electronic text of GAO Testimony is not available at 
this time. 

See the GAO FAQ - Section 2.0 for printed copy ordering information.
The FAQ is automatically retrieved with all WAIS search results or 
can be obtained by sending e-mail to: [email protected]