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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Research Council
Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems
Board on Army Science and Technology

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Congressional Briefing
Tuesday, August 24, 1999 - 10:00 a.m.
2318 Rayburn House Office Building

on

REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR
DEMILITARIZATION OF ASSEMBLED CHEMICAL WEAPONS

by

Dr. Robert A. Beaudet, Professor of Chemistry, University of Southern California and Chairman, Committee on the Review and Evaluation of Alternative Technologies for Demilitarization of Assembled Chemical Weapons, Board on Army Science and Technology, National Research Council

In a new report from the National Research Council (NRC) entitled, "Review and Evaluation of Alternative Technologies for Demilitarization of Assembled Chemical Weapons," a committee of the NRC's Board on Army Science and Technology examines seven disposal technologies being considered by the U.S. government as alternative methods to the process of incineration for destroying mortars, rockets, land mines, and other weapons that contain chemical warfare agents, such as mustard gas. These weapons are considered especially dangerous because they contain both chemical warfare agent and explosive materials in an assembled package that must be disassembled for destruction.

The study identifies the strengths and weaknesses and advantages and disadvantages of each technology and assesses their potential for full-scale implementation.

This briefing was for members of Congress and congressional staff only. The report was publicly released on August 25, 1999 and can be found, in its entirety, on the Web site of the National Academies Press.