Range Rule

The Range Rule has since been withdrawn, and there are indications that it will not be reintroduced. Even if the Range Rule is never promulgated, the environmental restoration of ranges and other sites likely to contain UXO is mandated under CERCLA, RCRA, and other traditional state and federal statutes and regulations. 

The Range Rule also confirms this problem with deterioration of explosive fillers. It states, As they deteriorate over time, some explosives may form sensitive crystals that could detonate if subjected to heat, shock or friction. Chemical munitions contain toxics that present additional safety risks. High explosive fillers, deteriorated explosives, and chemical munitions are a few examples of Military Munitions where the filler itself requires special safety considerations, even if the fusing mechanism is no longer capable of firing. ... 

It is the District s opinion that the remediation efforts did not address all of the areas of concern reflected in the Historical Report and Range Rule and our own study, both with respect to the potential for contamination and the likelihood of more unexploded munitions on the site. This report details the basis for this conclusion. 

District of Columbia believed that the bulk of the work still needed to be completed, as stated in their original recommendations. The District s view on the need for a complete site investigation with a study of environmental contamination, health impacts, and a search of the entire area for individual UXO and buried stockpiles is also confirmed by the proposed Range Rule. It is also confirmed by the tremendous amount of ordnance and chemical bottles found subsequent to the District s original conceptual site model. 

It can be seen that Rules 1 and 2 follow direcdy from Figures 5.5 and 5.6 and are thus universally valid as long as the heat capacity differences between solid and liquid are zero in the relevant temperature range. Rules 3 and 4 are known to fail sometimes and can be applied with much less confidence than the others. 

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