Munitions considerations

Insensitive munitions considerations for pyrotechnic devices. 30th DOD Safety Seminar, Atlanta, August 13-15. 

Extensive available level sites have sometimes previously accommodated gas works, chemical works, munitions factories, or industrial or domestic refuse tips. These sites require special consideration as regards protection of the stmcture to be built, the constmction workforce and the building occupants. 

The Rvalues are partition coefficients. The assumption that these are real constants Is seldom completely true, of course, because equilibrium Is rarely achieved and because the equilibrium ratios generally are not the same for all concentration levels. Moreover, It Is difficult to find the needed Information, and one must often accept a single literature value as typical of a given Intermedia transfer. When the organic content of the soli Is known or can be accurately estimated, one can usually derive Kgw from a compound s aqueous solubility, S, or Its octanol/water partition coefficient, KQW (14) Values of Kpa, namely "bloconcentratlon factors" between feed and meat animals (15,16), can also be derived from S or KQW. Bloconcentratlon factors between water and fish are well documented (14) A considerable weakness exists In our perception of the proper estimates to use for partition coefficients between soli and edible crop materials. Thus, at one time, two of the present authors used a default value of Kgp = 1 for munitions compounds that are neither very soluble In water nor very Insoluble (4) at another time, a value of was assumed for compounds with very low values of Ksw, l.e., polybromoblphenyls (6). 

Other considerations were particularly important to military commanders. For example, how high a dose could the average person survive if no treatment were available How much would weather conditions - particularly heat - affect the likelihood of a fatal outcome Just how much BZ would a chemical officer in the field need to disseminate to achieve desired effects throughout a given area, and how much variation in dosage would each type of munition produce ... 

Munitions that are designed to be dynamically placed, such as bombs, mortar rounds, or artillery shells, must naturally have stronger, usually steel, cases. These munitions, when they appear either as duds or as abandoned UXO, will have no significant diffusion, except through seals or o-rings. This diffusion should be expected to be considerably less than that available from mines. Duds often have case damage that can provide leak paths for the molecules. Naturally, this is not quantifiable in any predictive way. 

The issue of buried objects has attracted a great deal of attention, especially the worldwide proliferation of landmines hence, there have been funds for research. This research will have application beyond landmines. Much UXO is buried, some because it was buried for disposal, some because it became buried in the course of the conflict. However, understanding the way the molecules are released and how they migrate after release will also assist in applications where the munitions are not buried but are hidden in various ways. There are also other environments worthy of consideration. 

One major element is the definition of damage threats from various weapons or munitions and the description of basic damage mechanism or mechanisms associated with this threat. Targets can be described somewhat independently of the consideration of threats and damage mechanisms, but often the damage mechanisms are mere or less specific for certain classes of targets a oneway interaction between these two basic elements therefore is shown in Fig 2. A careful description of targets and a function analysis... 

The Phase 1 quantitative risk assessment for Pueblo and several other stockpile sites with assembled chemical munitions completed several years ago showed that the stockpile at Pueblo presents risk to public health several orders of magnitude lower than any other site. This is because it contains only mustard agent, which is less volatile than other agents, and therefore would not be carried very far in the event of a fire or explosion. Nevertheless, the Army has undertaken several risk and safety assessments to meet the legislative requirement that the technology chosen for Pueblo be as safe as or safer than the baseline system. The committee believes that the incineration technologies under consideration will have very low risk and will meet reasonable interpretations of safety criteria, even if the actual risk numbers marginally exceed the baseline criteria. 

In April 2000, the Army published a notice of intent (NOI) to prepare a site-specific environmental impact statement (EIS) for a facility to destroy the mustard agent and munitions stored at Pueblo Chemical Depot (PCD) in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. Four technology options are under consideration the baseline incineration system, a modified baseline process, and the two neutralization-based2 processes noted... 

Wood dunnage is primarily the wood packing used to store the munitions. The quantity of wood dunnage varies considerably across sites, depending on the number and types of munitions originally stored on wooden pallets. In a few cases, the dunnage will amount to more than 200 tons/year at an individual site. Options for dunnage disposal will depend on its exposure history and site permit requirements. 

The oldest known propellant charge is blackpowder (or gunpowder) which is a mixture of 75% Iignite powder with a burn rate of 600-800 m s which is still used today as a charge in military and civil pyrotechnic munitions. NC powder was discovered in 1846 by Schonbein and burns almost without any residue. Its burn rates at atmospheric pressure is 0.06-0.1 m s 1, which is considerably slower than blackpowder, as long... 

Safety Design Considerations in Munition Plants Layout... 

As stated at the outset, this paper is intended to provide a historical overview and some insight as to the types of operations, procedures and equipment used in the Army s Demilitarization Program for Chemical Munitions. In each of the areas discussed there has been a considerable amount of study, laboratory experimentation and pilot testing accomplished to define the specific design criteria. 

This is untrue. Compared with the random chance (real unpredictability) of effects of fragmenting munitions, the effects of chemical weapons may be predicted with considerable... 

Ammonium Nitrate. Ammonium nitrate became an important fertilizer after World War II when chemical plants that had been producing munitions were converted to the manufacture of fertilizer. It has a high concentration of nitrogen (35%) which is immediately available to the plant in the form of nitrate. However, ammonium nitrate is hygroscopic and prone to have large density fluctuations with crystal structure changes at 32°C. Ammonium nitrate is explosive if stored improperly. Proper storage methods and safety considerations must be employed. 

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