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The Pueblo Chemical Depot (PCD) in Colorado is one of two sites that features U.S. stockpile of chemical weapons that need to be destroyed. The PCD features about 2,600 tons of mustard-including agent. The PCD also features a pilot plant, the Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP), which has been set up to destroy the agent and munition bodies using novel processes. The chemical neutralization or hydrolysis of the mustard agent produces a Schedule 2 compound called thiodiglycol (TDG) that must be destroyed. The PCAPP uses a combined water recovery system (WRS) and brine reduction system (BRS) to destroy TDG and make the water used in the chemical neutralization well water again. Since the PCAPP is using a novel process, the program executive officer for the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) program asked the National Research Council (NRC) to initiate a study to review the PCAPP WRS-BRS that was already installed at PCAPP. 5 months into the study in October, 2012, the NRC was asked to also review the Biotreatment area (BTA). The Committee on Review of Biotreatment, Water Recovery, and Brine Reduction Systems for the Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant was thus tasked with evaluating the operability, life-expectancy, working quality, results of Biotreatment studies carried out prior to 1999 and 1999-2004, and the current design, systemization approached, and planned operation conditions for the Biotreatment process. Review of Biotreatment, Water Recovery, and Brine Reduction Systems for the Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant is the result of the committee's investigation. The report includes diagrams of the Biotreatment area, the BRS, and WRS; a table of materials of construction, the various recommendations made by the committee; and more.

FRANCIS W. HOLM Science Applications International Corporation 7102 Meadow Lane, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sponsored an Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) in Warsaw, Poland on April 24-25, 1995, to collect and study information on alternative and supplemental demilitarization technologies. The conference included experienced scientists and engineers, who delivered presentations and provided written reports oftheir findings. Countries describing their technologies included: Poland (pre-processing, thermal oxidation, and instrumentation), Russia (molten salt oxidation, plasma, catalytic oxidation, supertoxicants, molten metal, fluid bed reactions, and hydrogenation), Germany (supercritical water oxidation and detoxification), the United Kingdom (electrochemical oxidation), the United States (wet air oxidation, detoxification and biodegradation), and the Czech Republic (biodegradation). The technologies identified for assessment at the workshop are alternatives to incineration technology for chemical warfare agent destruction. Treatment of metal parts and explosive or energetic material were considered as a secondary issue. The treatment of dunnage and problems associated with decontamination, while recognized as an element of demilitarization, received only limited discussion. The alternative technologies are grouped into three categories based on process bulk operating temperature: low (O-200°C), medium (200-600°C), and high (600-3,500°C). Reaction types considered include hydrolysis, oxidation, electrochemical, hydrogenation, and pyrolysis. These categories represent a broad spectrum of processes, some of which have been studied only in the laboratory and some of which are in commercial use for destruction of hazardous andtoxic wastes. Some technologies have been developed and used for specific commercial applications.

One of the major problems associated with the disposal of chemical weapons is that the agents have degraded over time, some quite seriously. Detecting and identifying the products of this decomposition are necessary prerequisites to the safe, complete and environmentally benign destruction of stockpiled weapons. The book presents and discusses both basic and novel techniques in a variety of areas of analytical chemistry which are relevant to achieving the ultimate destruction of chemical weapons. Presentations address sample collection and preparation, mass spectrometry, chromatographic techniques, NMR, and air monitoring techniques. The work shows that analytical methods do exist to effectively support the destruction of chemical munitions. While further research is needed, the book provides an excellent baseline for further advances in the field.

In the opening session the Chairman of the Seminar underlined the important role of the permanent monitoring panels with respect to the 15 planetary emergencies. A special session of the Seminar was devoted to reporting on the activity of these panels. Short papers, abstracts and transparencies in the opening session introduced the subjects of the contributions:'Climatology and El Nino'(Nadia Pinardi, Neville Nicholls, Congbin Fu, Akimasa Sumi, William Sprigg and Llowell Wood) and'Desertification'(Douglas Johnson, Xinmin Liu, Lennart Olsson and Norman Rosenberg). Contributions on'Medicine & Biotechnologies'were presented by Paul Brown, Robert Will, Benardino Ghetti and Guy de The. The Theme'Defence Against Cosmic Objects'was covered by Walter Huebner, John Remo and William Bottke;'Water and Pollution'by Herman Bouwer, Gennady Palshin, David Rice and Paolo Ricci; and problems centered upon'Food'by Carlo Lerici and Silvia Franceschi,'Proliferation and Weapons of Mass Destruction'was discussed by Henning Wegener, Andrei Piontkovski, Reiner Huber, Tony Mason, Willis Stanley, Gregory Canavan and Povl Olgaard;'Limits of Development'by Hilmar Schubert and Leonardas Kairiukstis; and'Energy'by Stanislav Subbotin, Andrei Gagarinski and Eugeni Velikhov. T D Lee closed the Seminar by emphasizing the link between basic science and planetary emergencies.

This book is a compilation of major reprint articles on one of the most intriguing phenomena in modern physics: the quantum Hall effect. Together with a detailed introduction by the editor, this volume serves as a stimulating and valuable reference for students and research workers in condensed matter physics and for those with a particle physics background. The papers have been chosen with the intention of emphasizing the topological aspects of the quantum Hall effect and its connections with other branches of theoretical physics, such as topological quantum field theories and string theory. The contents include sections on integer effect, fractional effect, effect of global topology, effective theories, edge states and non-Abelian statistics.

This comprehensive and up-to-date volume contains 367 papers presented at the 29th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, held in Lisbon, Portugal, 19-24 September 2004. It is divided into five parts: waves; long waves, nearshore currents, and swash; sediment transport and morphology; coastal management, beach nourishment, and dredging; coastal structures. The contributions cover a broad range of topics including theory, numerical and physical modeling, field measurements, case studies, design, and management. Coastal Engineering 2004 provides engineers, scientists, and planners state-of-the-art information on coastal engineering and coastal processes.The proceedings have been selected for coverage in:Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)CC Proceedings - Engineering & Physical Sciences