Changes in Exposures to PFAS, Metals, Dioxins, and Furans following Cessation of Open Burning of Munitions Wastes at a Hazardous Waste Thermal Treatment Facility

Several rural communities across the U.S. are burdened by hazardous explosive waste disposal sites, including
many active and retired military bases on the National Priorities List. Colfax, LA (2021 pop. 2,010, 71% Black,
26% White, med. income $16,687) currently hosts the only commercially-operating open burn/open detonation
(OBOD) hazardous waste thermal treatment (TT) facility in the nation and treats contaminated soils from
Superfund sites, spent military munitions, and other explosives. Fine and ultrafine particulate matter (PM) is
emitted during TT of Superfund hazardous wastes and military munitions. Colfax residents living immediately
south of the TT facility solicited our assistance after enduring health impacts including chloracne, cancers, and
thyroid, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases. During our 2022-23 community-based sampling campaign in
Colfax, we detected environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs), metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
dioxins, and furans in fine and coarse PM samples and collected urine, nail, and dust samples. Beginning
December 26, 2023, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality will prohibit OBOD, to be replaced with
a closed-burn containment system (CBCS) no earlier than 2025. OBOD prohibition aligns with EPA’s efforts
to replace OBOD with CBCS, representing an important inflection point in energetic waste management
that requires surveillance to ensure that community exposures are sufficiently minimized. However, even
CBCS may incur risks. Emissions of chlorinated compounds and some metals associated with thyroid,
respiratory, and skin disease are still anticipated with CBCS. For this reason, Colfax residents have asked us to
continue surveillance of the air quality even after the cessation of OBOD. We hypothesize that replacement
of OBOD with CBCS will cause short-term increases in coarse PM containing perchlorate derivatives,
transition metals, and PFAS during construction, followed by a substantial reduction in fine PM and its
components once CBCS is operational. Through our work, we will 1) collect ambient particulate matter,
household dust, and biological samples at key time periods during and after construction of the CBCS and 2)
chemically analyze collected samples to ascertain changes in chemical composition during OBOD operationand
the CBCS construction and operation phases. These efforts will allow for ongoing quantification of air pollution
to assess risk of oxidative stress and health effects from exposures, leading to timely reporting of risk data to the
community. The proposed study is time-sensitive, as it provides a rare opportunity to compare the
emissions and exposures during operations of different technologies and during the transitional period
of demolition and construction. This unique dataset will demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of
operational changes to TT, providing crucial information about reduction in concentrations and exposures
following cessation of TT. This information will be essential for management of military wastes throughout
the U.S. to reduce exposures to chemicals associated with many preventable health conditions.