Pine Bluff Arsenal

Pine Bluff Arsenal, Pine Bluff, AR 71602-9500 2NASA National Space Technology Laboratories (NSTL), Sverdrup Technology Inc., Technical Services Laboratory, NSTL Station, MS 39529... 

Garcia, David J. Aikman, Loy M. McIntyre, F.L. and Shook, Thomas E. Ramd Plant Scaie Mixing Granulation and Loading of Drv Materials Purina the Manufacture of Colored Smoke Munitions Pine Bluff Arsenal, Pine Bluff,... 

Fill and Press Technology for Production of Colored Smoke Grenades Pine Bluff Arsenal. Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71602-9500 (1982). 

Since World War II, Pine Bluff Arsenal has produced millions of white phosphorus (WP) munitions for the United States Department of o Defense. White phosphorus has a specific gravity of 1.728 at 145 F (the temperature that is normally used for WP filling operations) and melts at 111.4 F it ignites spontaneously in atmospheric air and generates a dense white 6moke, phosphorus pentoxide (P Oc). 

A project (No. 5751274) was approved and funded by the Army s Production Base Modernization and Expansion Project Management Office to prove out the Pine Bluff Arsenal volumetric filling concept on a production basis. 

Description of the Pine Bluff Arsenal Volumetric Filling Concept... 

The Pine Bluff Arsenal white phosphorus volumetric filling system (U.S. Patents 4,002,268, 11 January 1976, and 4,043,490, dated 23 August 1977) was conceived and developed by Pine Bluff Arsenal in 1973 and has been used in filling UP munitions since early 1974. 

Figure 2. Pine Bluff Arsenal WP volumetric filling system.

Figure 5. Pine Bluff Arsenal phase 1 WP volumetric filling accuracy.

The major effort for the Pine Bluff Arsenal development work was concentrated on the filling system with other work stations receiving as much attention as time and funding allowed. The facility is listed as WP Line No. 3, Building 34-110, at Pine Bluff Arsenal. A partial listing of major material and equipment requirements and components for the facility is as follows ... 

Illustrations provided by James Palmer, Pine Bluff Arsenal. 

The contributions of several Government organizations and employees contributed to the success of the Phase I and II development of the Pine Bluff Arsenal volumetric filling production line. Noteworthy support was provided by the following individuals ... 

NASA National Space Technology Laboratories, 152 Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory, 92,107,130 Oneil M Banks, 224 Pine Bluff Arsenal, 152,168 Southwest Research Institute, 147,269 Tooele Army Depot, 294 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 85,241 U.S. Army Defense Ammunition Center School, 254... 

Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas was reported to be the major facility manufacturing smoke and pyrotechnic devices containing hexachloroethane for the military (Gordon et al. 1991). It was estimated that between 1966 and 1977 this facility used an average of 192,802 pounds of hexachloroethane annually (Kitchens et al. 1978). Data on quantities of hexachloroethane currently consumed for military and civilian uses were not located. 

Three suhposts fell in 1968 under the administrative control of Edgewood Arsenal. They were Pine Bluff Arsenal, Ark Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colo and Weldon Spring Army Chemical Plant, Mo. The first two specialized in various aspects of chemical testing, procurement, manufacture, and research, whereas the Weldon Spring facility was readied for the production of a chemical defoliant for use in Vietnam... 

WP/F is manufactured in the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Molten white phosphorus stored under water is loaded in munitions shells either by the dip-fill or dry-fill methods (Berkowitz et al. 1981). In the dip-fill method, the shell canisters containing the felt wedges are passed through tubs of molten phosphorus under water. In the dry fill method, molten phosphorus is added directly to the canister under an inert atmosphere. The latter method greatly reduces phosphorus waste (phossy water) and environmental contamination (Spanggord et al. 1983). 

However, the concentration of elemental phosphorus in effluents from industries that produce phosphorus compounds is much lower, compared to industries that do not use chemical conversion processes for producing final products (e.g., WP/F production). White phosphorus also enters water when treated or untreated effluents are released from munitions production facilities that use white phosphorus. Before water recycling measures were implemented at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas, the effluent water (phossy water) from the facility contained <53.4 mg/L of white phosphorus (Pearson et al. 1976). 

Elemental phosphorus has been detected in fish and birds from areas in the vicinity of elemental phosphorus production sites (ERCO of Newfoundland), an arsenal production facility (Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas), and artillery training sites (Eagle River Flats, Anchorage, Alaska). The concentrations of elemental phosphorus in fish and birds collected from these sites are given in Table 5-2. The concentrations of elemental phosphorus in the gizzard content of a dead waterfowl and a dead mallard... 

The concentrations of white phosphorus levels in the atmosphere of a wet fill production line at Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas, were measured in 1975 (Berkowitz et al. 1981). The levels of white phosphorus at this location exceeded the OSHA 8-hour time-weighted average exposure limit of 0.1 mg/m3. At one location, the concentration of elemental phosphorus was 0.45 mg/m3 and may have been underestimated due to poor quality control (Berkowitz et al. 

Pearson JG, Bender ES, Taormina DH, et al. 1976. Effects of elemental phosphorus on the biota of Yellow Lake, Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas. March - January 1975. Edgewood Arsenal, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Technical Report EO-TR-76077. ADA035925. 

The Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology issued a permit (Permit No. 29-H) to Pine Bluff Arsenal to operate a hazardous waste management facility at Pine Bluff Circle, Jefferson County, Arkansas. 

ADEQ (Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality). 2006. Permit for a Hazardous Waste Management Facility, Pine Bluff Arsenal, RCRA Permit Number 29-H, Revision 16, October 20. Little Rock, Ark. Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology. 

Pine Bluff Arsenal Mustard, HN, L, and degradation products, CAIS ... 

Carnes, S.A., J.A. Boyette, F.C. Kornegay, et al. 1986. Preliminary Assessment of the Health and Environmental Impacts of Incinerating M55 Rockets Stored at Pine Bluff Arsenal, Lexington-Blue Grass Depot Activity, and/or Anniston Army Depot at Pine Blujf Arsenal. ORNL-6197. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN. 

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