On July 19, 2019, the National Academy of Sciences appointed Principal Aaron Goldberg (Washington, DC) as a member of a committee formed to advise the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office for Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA) on initial planning for closure of two facilities being used to destroy the nation’s remaining stockpile of chemical weapons. The facilities are the Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) near Pueblo, Colorado, and the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP), near Richmond, Kentucky.

Aaron will be the sole attorney on the 9-member panel, which includes distinguished scientists and technical professionals from academia, various National Laboratories, and industry. His work will be focused primarily on the applicability of the hazardous waste regulations under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and its state counterparts to the closure of the two facilities. He will also be building off his long-standing experience with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and U.S. implementing legislation and regulations. 

“I am honored to be appointed by the National Academy to this committee, and I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the effort to ensure that these chemical weapons destruction facilities are closed in a safe, cost-effective, and legally compliant manner,” said Aaron.

Aaron’s legal practice focuses on U.S. and international regulatory requirements for managing hazardous wastes, transporting hazardous materials and dangerous goods, and ensuring that industrial chemicals are not diverted to use in making illicit drugs or chemical weapons. He previously worked as a consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a legal analyst in the White House Office of Management and Budget. In addition to being a lawyer, he has degrees in chemistry from Yale University and the California Institute of Technology. He received his law degree from Stanford Law School.

For additional information from the National Academy of Sciences about Aaron’s appointment and the work of the committee, click here.