PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH IMPACTS FOR THE NEWPORT CHEMICAL AGENT DISPOSAL FACILITY

Abstract

A Preliminary Assessment of Health Impacts (PAHI) study was conducted to look at potential human and environmental health impacts due to the air and water emissions generated from the proposed Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (NECDF) in Newport, Indiana. As an alternative to incineration, the NECDF will use a neutralization-based treatment process followed by supercritical water oxidation to destroy the VX nerve agent stored in ton containers at the Newport Chemical Depot. There is no regulatory guidance on conducting an assessment of health impacts for this type of facility. Therefore, The U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM) designed a PAHI study based on bench-scale data and best engineering estimates that conservatively evaluate possible health effects from the projected air and water emissions.

The air portion of the PAHI focused primarily on estimating carcinogenic risks and noncarcinogenic hazards from direct and indirect exposures to the subsistence farmer, subsistence fisher, adult resident, and child resident. The water portion of the PAHI evaluated potential human and environmental impacts using two different procedures individual compound analysis and whole effluent toxicity analysis. The individual compounds analysis compared constituent concentrations in the water emission to Indiana State Water Quality Standards and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Ambient Water Quality Criteria to evaluate the potential health impacts to human, terrestrial, and aquatic life. The whole effluent toxicity tests were conducted on mammalian (mouse, rat, and rabbit) and aquatic (water flea, algae, and minnows) species to test for potential additive, synergistic, and antagonistic effects. The results of the air and water portion of the study showed that the operation of NECDF would be safe to exposed human and environmental receptors. A Final Assessment of Health Impacts (FAHI) will also be conducted by USACHPPM, after NECDF is constructed and before full-scale operations, to validate the results of the PAHI.