Explosive ordnance contamination

Bulk agents included mustard (bis-2-chloroethyl sulfide, 12 tonnes), lewisite (2-chlorovinyl-dichloro arsine, 2.5 tonnes) and nerve agents in the G- and V-classes (0.3 tonne). The scrap (400 tonnes) consisted mainly of several thousand empty, mustard-contaminated 210 drums and ordnance casings stored in open pits. All of the lewisite and some of the mustard and nerve agents were stored in 1 ton containers. Nerve agents were also stored in non-explosive ordnance, primarily 105 and 155 mm artillery shells. Mustard which had aged or had been thickened with polymers was also contained in non-explosive ordnance. The waste previously had been sorted by type, collected and stored at four remote, protected sites on the EPG. 

State and local governments must realize at the outset that the military lacks experience in many aspects of environmental remediation and even in munitions clearance. For example, until 1994 there was a moratorium on the excavation of chemical weapons. UXO technicians may also be unfamiliar with residual contamination from chemical and explosive weapons. Even with explosive ordnance, mistakes can occur. Recently a scrap metal worker was killed when an ordnance item that was hidden among other ordnance scrap metal exploded while being cut up for scrap with a torch. Another area where the military lacks ordnance experience is in World War I and older ordnance and in experimental ordnance. The database of the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is often incomplete in these areas. 

Following the liberation, the State of Kuwait undertook extensive explosive ordnance detonation (EOD) operations in which large quantities of unexploded munitions were destroyed through open burning (OB) or detonation in underground pits (OD). This resulted in the contamination of soils with nitroaromatics, nitrosamines. 

The contamination of the environment by explosives, especially by nitroesters and nitroaromatics (NACs), is a worldwide environmental problem since enormous amounts of these compounds were produced during World War I and II. Most contaminated sites are located at ammunition factories and other places where these compounds were handled. This involved open detonation and burning of explosives at army depots, evaluation facilities, artillery ranges, and ordnance disposal sites (Rodgers and Bunce, 2001). 

During World War II, copious quantities of ordnance were lost into the harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Decades later, these UUXO now present a significant environmental contamination problem. Studies conducted on this ordnance by Sandia National Laboratories [1] suggest that there may be sufficient concentrations of explosive chemical signature compounds emanating from UUXO to enable detection with chemical sensors. Some UUXO in Halifax Harbor have been shown to produce parts-per-billion levels of explosives in the water near the ordnance. In addition to the parent explosive compound (TNT), other explosive-related compounds such as 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) were detected, as were degradation products of TNT such as 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene (4-ADNT), and... 

Although TNT is a widely used military explosive, it is no longer manufactured in the United States. Crystalline XACs are, however, very persistent in soils, so continue as a contaminant source long after production has ceased. Large chunks of explosives present a detonation hazard. New environmental releases are more likely associated with packing/storage facilities or unexploded ordnance. 

Soil and groundwater contamination from packing and storage facilities would be a distinctly different problem. Here the contaminant source is a relatively well-defined mixture of microcrystalline explosives that are sparingly soluble in water at environmental temperatures. The source material is spread locally across a soil surface by unintentional release. The composition of material subject to dissolution and percolation into soils is likely to be that of the ordnance, primarily RDX and TNT. little data are available concerning environmental alteration of solid phase explosives. Although aqueous solubility data are available for many explosives, dissolution kinetics data for pure or mixed solids are not available. 

Incineration processes can be used to treat the following waste streams explosives-contaminated soil and debris, explosives with other organics or metals, initiating explosives, bulk explosives, unexploded ordnance, bulky radioactive waste, and pyrophoric waste. In addition, incineration can be applied to sites with a mixture of media, such as concrete, sand, clay, water, and sludge, provided the media can be fed to the incinerator and heated for a sufficient period of time. 

As a result of wartime activities, dumping, and accidents, unexploded ordnance (UXO) is an additional source of explosive contaminants to sediments in marine [3] and freshwater environments [4] throughout the world. Field experiments using cleaved shells containing TNT demonstrated that leakage from breached munitions can serve as a source of sediment contamination [5],... 

In choosing the correct detectors, other particular facts should also be considered. Whereas most ordnance is ferrous, fuses may be nonferrous and are usually buried separately from the projectile bodies and may be in large and dangerous quantities. Some explosives such as dynamite or C-3 and C-4 may not be in metallic containers, thus the nonferrous detonators may be the only clue to their location. Also, some chemical agent containers are nonferrous. Chemical weapon test sites may have the unique problem of arsenic, magnesium, and other metals in the soil. Ranges may have copper and beryllium in the soil. The effects of such contamination or natural soil conditions on the detection equipment should be carefully considered. 

Cleanup of chemical and explosive munitions locating, identifying contaminants, and planning for environmental remediation of land and sea military ranges and ordnance dumpsites / Richard D. Albright, p. cm. 

The War Department used many of these perchlorate compounds in W.W.I., contrary to the claim of the U.S. Army Center for Ordnance Expertise that perchlorate was first used in W.W.n. The Germans also had a 17 cm shell which used ammonium perchlorate as the explosive filler. In W.W.I., the United States used perchlorate compounds for signaling rockets and flares, and as a burster charge in gas grenades. Perchlorate is and has been used in over 250 munitions often in powder train time fuses and propellants in rockets and in other time fuse applications. Since perchlorate is so water soluble, it is a secondary contaminant in water dumped or buried munitions. Perchlorate has an exothermic reaction (heats up) as it ages, capable of spontaneous combustion. 

The AUES is a very complex site. The primary focus of the investigadon under the District of Columbia s direction was the finding of bnrial sites containing CWM and explosive or chemical ordnance. As a direct and proximate result of the District s work, 655 shells (many had already leaked) and 220 bottles containing Lewisite, mnstard, bromine componnds, and other chemical warfare agents and precursors have been found. A secondary objective was to find areas of contamination. Approximately 10 percent of the properties have been found to contain elevated levels of arsenic, and about 15 required time-critical removal actions. 

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