dod tactical herbicide sites - United States Department of Defense

DOD TACTICAL HERBICIDE SITESSite 30Location: Reprocessing of Herbicide Orange, Gulfport,MississippiDate → May 1975 – March 1977Activity Description: In December 1974, the Department of the Air Force filed afinal environmental impact statement with the Council on Environmental Quality on thedisposition of Herbicide Orange by destruction aboard a specially designed incineratorship in a remote area of the Central Pacific Ocean west of Johnston Island. The USEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a public meeting in February 1975 toconsider the Air Force’s request for a permit for ocean incineration of Herbicide Orange.During that meeting, public testimony was presented that suggested that HerbicideOrange could indeed be reprocessed and the material commercially used. The EPArequested that the Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) again investigate the feasibilityof reprocessing the herbicide as a means of disposition prior to making a decision on thepermit of ocean incineration. In March 1975, a private company, Agent Chemical Inc.,(ACI) submitted a proposal to AFLC proposing that a new process had been developed toremove the TCDD from the herbicide, thus making it available to be reformulated,registered with EPA, and sold in commercial channels.From May 1975 to March 1977, ACI, the Defense Supply Agency, and AFLC worked ontests and pilot plant research to determine if the reprocessing of the Herbicide Orangestocks could be preformed safely. During the period, the Defense Supply Agency tookthe lead in managing the reprocessing program. The AFLC’s Occupational andEnvironmental Health Laboratory at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas provided the technicalexpertise. AFLC retained responsibility for all project and environmental safetyprograms. In August 1975, ACI received permission from the Mississippi Air and WaterPollution Control Commission to construct a pilot reprocessing plant at the NavalConstruction Battalion Center (NCBC) in Gulfport, Mississippi. The NCBC was thestorage site for 860,000 gallons of Herbicide Orange. The Naval authorities workedclosely with AFLC and the Defense Supply Agency in their reprocessing efforts. If thepilot plant proved successful, NCBC would be the site for the reprocessing operation.Assessment: In October 1975, ACI received a permit to construct and operate thepilot plant. The plans called for reprocessing the herbicide at both Gulfport and JohnstonIsland. The process consisted of heating the herbicide and then passing it through carbonabsorption cylinders to remove the TCDD. To reprocess all of the Herbicide Orange69