Munitions Assessment Review Board

Both the Munitions Assessment Review Board (MARB) and the author misidentified one type of shell found in the pits. Because the PINS instrument correctly read sihcon dioxide as part of the contents, we believed that those shells were practice rounds filled with sand. It now appears that they were chemical shells filled with Kieselgur, a substance intended to keep the gas closer to the ground and make it more persistent. Whatever gas they were already filled with had either leaked or was one of the many odd ones not recognized by the PINS, which only identified six common chemical agents. This lapse underscores the need to spend a year or more studying the history of a site, and the general military developments which occurred during the site s operation. 

As a part of the U.S. Army s Non-Stockpile Chemical Material Program, x-ray radiography and PINS assays have been widely employed as a part of the munitions assessment effort. [3] The x-rays are used to determine if the munition is explosively configured, and provides information on fill material phase and fill level. The item is then assayed by PINS to elucidate the suspected fill. These data are then available to a Munitions Assessment Review Board that makes a recommendation on the final disposition of the item. Munitions that are deemed safe to access and are suspected of containing a chemical fill are drilled, drained and the fill materials analyzed and processed in a facility at the U. S. Army s Aberdeen Proving Ground that is properly equipped for these operations. [9] Munitions that contain no CWM are disposed of other iq>proved means. 

Before any of the munitions are delivered to the facility, they will have been previously assessed by the portable isotopic neutron spectroscopy (PINS) technique, x-rayed where appropriate, and the results reviewed by the Munitions Assessment and Review Board (MARB) to properly identify the contents. Data indicating the presence or absence of explosive and fuze components and the type of chemicals will be provided to the PBNSF operator for each item. The munitions will arrive at the facility overpacked individually in airtight containers. The following briefly describes the typical process flow for the categories of RCWM to be processed. 

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