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Reach Highlighting

the U.S. Army’s

Chemical 

Demilitarization 

Program

For decades, the mustard agent stockpile stored 

at the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving 

Ground, Md., has been kept in steel ton containers, 

commonly called “TCs.” These ton containers, 

much like the mustard agent, soon will be destroyed 

in accordance with the requirements of the 

Chemical Weapons Convention, an international 

treaty prohibiting the development, production, 

stockpile and use of chemical weapons. 

Since disposal operations began April 23, 2003, at 

the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, or 

ABCDF, more than 80 tons of mustard agent have 

been drained from these TCs and destroyed using 

a technology known as neutralization, followed by 

off-site biotreatment. During the disposal process, 

workers drain the mustard agent from the ton 

containers by manually removing the containers’ 

plugs through a glove box system like those used 

safely by the Army for agent handling for more 

than 10 years. Workers connect a drain tube and 

the agent is pumped to an agent holding tank. The 

container is then triple rinsed using hot water and a 

caustic solution and this water is pumped to a rinse 

water holding tank. The mustard agent and rinse 

water is then blended into a reactor containing hot 

water and vigorously mixed, causing the mustard 

agent to form a biodegradable liquid byproduct 

called hydrolysate. The mostly-water hydrolysate is 

tested to confi rm complete agent destruction before 

it is transported to DuPont’s Secure Environmental 

Treatment facility at Chambers Works in Deepwater, 

N.J., for disposal using a biotreatment process. 

Originally, the empty ton containers would have 

been cut, rinsed and decontaminated immediately 

after draining the agent. However, after the Sept. 11, 

2001, terrorist attacks, the Army announced plans 

to accelerate the destruction of the mustard agent 

stockpile, recognizing that complete destruction of 

the stockpile offers the best security and permanent 

protection for the public. Part of that plan to 

accelerate disposal simplifi ed and re-sequenced the 

process of cutting, rinsing and decontaminating the 

containers after draining the agent.

At the ABCDF, the re-sequenced process begins 

when each container is weighed, prior to agent 

draining, at the Process Neutralization Building. 

Once the mustard agent has been drained, each 

container is triple rinsed with hot water and a 

caustic solution in order to remove the residual 

ABCDF ton container cleanout operations 

scheduled to go on line

Eleven-step process leads to decontaminated containers

Winter 2004

Edgewood 

Chemical Stockpile 

Outreach Offi ce

1011 B Woodbridge 

Center Way

Edgewood, MD 21040

(410) 676-6800

Outreach Offi ce Hours

Monday–Friday

8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.

Other hours by appointment

U.S. Army 

Aberdeen 

Chemical Agent 

Disposal Facility 

Public Affairs Offi ce

(410) 436-5253

Bechtel Aberdeen 

Public Outreach Offi ce

(410) 436-9507

Edgewood

Continued inside

The drained containers are processed through the Ton Container Cleanout facility where they are cut in half, cleaned and 

shipped to an Army facility for recycling.

Graphic courtesy of Bechtel Aberdeen

Clean container 

halves exit here

Monitoring

chamber

Steam &

air dry Wash & 

drain

Up-ender

Cutter

Small parts 

removal

Rinse & drain

Hydraulic 

punch

Air lock

Drained container 

enters here

Ton Container Cleanout

Chemical Materials Agency

www.cma.army.mil
material that remains in the ton container. “After 

each container has been drained, it’s re-sealed, and 

monitored to ensure no agent contamination is 

detected,” said ABCDF Process and Facilities Design 

Lead Bob Hessian. “We weigh the container again 

after the agent is drained so that we can determine 

the exact amount of agent drained from each container 

before we transfer the TC to the Drained Ton 

Container Storage Area. The containers are securely 

stored in that area until they are removed for processing 

at the Ton Container Cleanout, or TCC facility.” 

Once inside the TCC facility, the ton container is 

prepared to begin its journey through an 11-step 

decontamination process. The process begins when a 

ton container is taken from a staging area next to the 

TCC facility and is loaded onto the In-Feed Conveyor. 

The container is inspected to verify that the shipping 

cap has been removed and the container has been 

properly loaded and does not contain any surface 

irregularities that could disrupt or prevent 

successful processing. 

Once inspected, the container is transferred into 

the In-Feed Air Lock. The inlet door opens and a 

cascade ventilation system ensures that suffi cient 

air is drawn in through the door to preserve the 

containment boundary in the Air Lock as the 

container is introduced. After verifying the system 

has properly closed the inlet door, the remote and 

automated control system transfers the container to 

the Bulk Drain Station.

“Originally, the Bulk Drain Station was designed 

to use a metal punch to open each container and 

drain the liquid agent,” explained Hessian. “Under 

the accelerated plan, the containers will have been 

drained manually in the Process Neutralization 

Building drain station previously, so only the punch 

system will be used here.”

Once the access holes are punched into the container, 

it is transferred to the Rinse and Drain Station. The 

container is rinsed thoroughly inside three times, 

using high-pressure hot water. The rinse is performed 

in a manner to ensure all interior surfaces of the 

container are cleaned thoroughly to remove any 

residual material.

All of the ton container’s small parts, valves and plugs 

are robotically removed in the Small Parts Removal 

Station, and segregated for additional disassembly in 

the Maintenance Glove Box. Vent and drain tubes are 

steamed out to ensure that residual material within 

the tubes is dislodged. A fi nal rinse, similar to that 

described previously, is performed to completely 

remove the dislodged residual. “In the event we are 

unable to robotically remove a small part, workers 

can use a glove box system to manually extract the 

part,” said Hessian. A second feature incorporated 

into the design of the Small Parts Removal station 

is a “Kick Out Station,” which allows for temporary 

“parking” of a container if maintenance or other 

operational issues arise.

With its small parts removed, the container is 

transferred into the TC Cutter Station. Here, the 

containers are cut in half using a pinch wheel 

technology (similar to a plumber’s copper tube 

cutter). This method was chosen since it does not 

generate metal cutting waste. Each container half 

Frequently Asked Q

Ton Container Clea

Photo by Bruce C. Wright, U.S. Army

Some bollards, like those pictured above, have been made from 

recycled ton container metal.

“After each 

container has 

been drained, it’s 

re-sealed, and 

monitored to 

ensure no agent 

contamination

is detected.”

—Bob Hessian, ABCDF 

Process and Facilities 

Design Lead

Continued from cover

TCC operations scheduled

to begin at ABCDF

2
is then up-ended and then transferred to the Wash 

and Drain Station, where the container is positioned 

open-side down and sprayed with high-pressure hot 

water to thoroughly clean it inside and out.

The washed container halves are transferred to the 

Steam and Air Dry Station where saturated steam is 

used to blow any remaining water from the tubes, 

as well as heat and dry all surfaces of the container. 

This step is performed in anticipation of monitoring 

the container for cleanliness, which requires all 

surfaces to be free of standing liquid and above 70 

degrees Fahrenheit, during the monitoring period. 

“The goal of monitoring is to verify that the surface 

has been decontaminated and can be handled safely 

without protective equipment,” Hessian explained.

In the Monitoring Air Lock, ton container halves 

are received in their upright positions and isolated 

from the cascade ventilation system following 

transfer. The container is held temporarily before a 

near real-time monitor is used to assess cleanliness. If 

the container halves are shown to be clean, they can 

be discharged from the air lock to the Down-Ender, 

where each half is laid on its side to be transferred 

by forklift for off-site shipping. If monitoring 

determines that the container halves have not been 

adequately cleaned, they can be passed back to the 

Steam and Air Dry Station Kick Out Conveyor 

where they await reprocessing in the Wash and 

Drain Station. “Safety is always the priority here at 

the ABCDF and we’ll take the time to make sure the 

job is done the right way,” said Hessian.

Ton container halves removed from the process

line will be loaded onto a trailer outside the Process 

Neutralization Building. The trailer load will be 

secured and transported by the Army Test Center to 

Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois. There, the container 

halves will receive additional thermal treatment and 

the steel will be recycled.

Questions about the

anout facility (TCC)

How much water is used to process

the containers through the TCC?

Approximately 1,100 gallons of water are used for each ton 

container processed during steady-state operations. Actual 

water volumes will depend on the decontamination results 

achieved once operations begin. 

What happens to the water used

in the TCC?

Rinse water from the stations in the TCC facility is

collected and transferred to the Process Neutralization 

Building Rinse Water Holding Tank. Once there, the 

effl uent is treated in the Process Neutralization reactors

and tested to verify it is agent free. 

Will any vapors be generated at the

TCC facility? What happens to them?

Vapors generated at the TCC are collected in a dedicated 

carbon fi ltration system. The system includes a caustic 

scrubber, multi-stage fi ltration, and continuous air 

monitoring equipment. The facility will operate under

an air permit issued by the Maryland Department of 

the Environment.

What happens to the ton containers

once they have been decontaminated

and cleared?

Ton container halves removed from the process line will 

be loaded onto a trailer outside the Process Neutralization 

Building. The trailer load will be secured and transported 

by the Army Test Center to Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois. 

There, the container halves will receive additional thermal 

treatment and the steel will be recycled.

3

“Safety is always 

the priority here 

at the ABCDF and 

we’ll take the time 

to make sure the 

job is done the 

right way.”

—Bob Hessian, ABCDF 

Process and Facilities 

Design Lead

A total of 98 tons of

mustard agent have been drained.

Of the drained mustard agent, 

more than 80 tons

have been neutralized.

At a glance – ABCDF stats

as of Jan. 31, 2004

Approximately 586,745

gallons of the neutralization 

byproduct, called 

hydrolysate, have been 

shipped for biotreatment 

to DuPont Secure 

Environmental Treatment 

at Chambers Works in 

Deepwater, N.J.

Total Drained

Total Neutralized

Hydrolysate Transport
Reach

Edgewood Chemical Stockpile Outreach Offi ce

c/o Director U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency 

Public Outreach and Information Offi ce E4585

AMSCM-SSP

5183 Blackhawk Road

APG-EA, MD 21010-5424

Flamm inducted into Senior Executive Service

The Honorable Claude M. Bolton, Jr., Assistant Secretary 

of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology), left, 

presents a certifi cate to Kevin Flamm, following Flamm’s 

induction into the Senior Executive Service, Dec. 9, 2003, 

at the Chemical Demilitarization Training Facility located 

at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. Flamm, formerly 

the Project Manager for Alternative Technologies and 

Approaches, is now the U.S. Army Chemical Materials 

Agency Program Manager for Elimination of Chemical 

Weapons. He is responsible for overseeing the Chemical 

Stockpile Disposal Project, the Alternative Technologies 

and Approaches Project and the Non-Stockpile Chemical 

Materiel Program, as well as the Army’s support to the 

Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which is the 

Department of Defense’s provision of technical assistance 

Photo by Conrad Johnson, RDECOM

to Russia’s chemical weapons destruction program.