A SAFE, LOW COST & RAPID CATALYTIC DECONTAMINATION TECHNIQUE FOR PCP-TREATED WOOD

The Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, California, is the custodian of what is believed to be the free world's supply of napalm. Beginning late in FY93, the Navy expects to accomplish the removal and disposal of the napalm and the aluminum canisters. When this task is completed, all that will remain are the 35,000 PCP treated wood crates in various states of disrepair. This amounts to approximately six million pounds of waste that must be disposed of properly. Because of current State regulations and pending regulatory changes at the Federal level, careful consideration must be given to disposal of PCP-treated wood products. TA&T, Inc. proposes to demonstrate in Phase I, a safe, low cost and rapid chemical catalyst technique for decontamination of PCP-treated wood. The technique is called Base Catalyzed Decompisition and has already been demonstrated to decontaminate PCP contaminated soil, as well as PCB contaminated wood. Based on these demonstrations, the extension of this technique to decontamination of PCP-treated wood has a high probability of success.