Alternatives for the Demilitarization of Conventional Munitions

Alternatives for the Demilitarization of Conventional Munitions
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 133
Release: 2019-01-11
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309477352

The U.S. military has a stockpile of approximately 400,000 tons of excess, obsolete, or unserviceable munitions. About 60,000 tons are added to the stockpile each year. Munitions include projectiles, bombs, rockets, landmines, and missiles. Open burning/open detonation (OB/OD) of these munitions has been a common disposal practice for decades, although it has decreased significantly since 2011. OB/OD is relatively quick, procedurally straightforward, and inexpensive. However, the downside of OB and OD is that they release contaminants from the operation directly into the environment. Over time, a number of technology alternatives to OB/OD have become available and more are in research and development. Alternative technologies generally involve some type of contained destruction of the energetic materials, including contained burning or contained detonation as well as contained methods that forego combustion or detonation. Alternatives for the Demilitarization of Conventional Munitions reviews the current conventional munitions demilitarization stockpile and analyzes existing and emerging disposal, treatment, and reuse technologies. This report identifies and evaluates any barriers to full-scale deployment of alternatives to OB/OD or non-closed loop incineration/combustion, and provides recommendations to overcome such barriers.

Alternatives for the Demilitarization of Conventional Munitions

Alternatives for the Demilitarization of Conventional Munitions
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 133
Release: 2019-02-11
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309477328

The U.S. military has a stockpile of approximately 400,000 tons of excess, obsolete, or unserviceable munitions. About 60,000 tons are added to the stockpile each year. Munitions include projectiles, bombs, rockets, landmines, and missiles. Open burning/open detonation (OB/OD) of these munitions has been a common disposal practice for decades, although it has decreased significantly since 2011. OB/OD is relatively quick, procedurally straightforward, and inexpensive. However, the downside of OB and OD is that they release contaminants from the operation directly into the environment. Over time, a number of technology alternatives to OB/OD have become available and more are in research and development. Alternative technologies generally involve some type of contained destruction of the energetic materials, including contained burning or contained detonation as well as contained methods that forego combustion or detonation. Alternatives for the Demilitarization of Conventional Munitions reviews the current conventional munitions demilitarization stockpile and analyzes existing and emerging disposal, treatment, and reuse technologies. This report identifies and evaluates any barriers to full-scale deployment of alternatives to OB/OD or non-closed loop incineration/combustion, and provides recommendations to overcome such barriers.

U.S. Army Explosives and Demolitions Handbook

U.S. Army Explosives and Demolitions Handbook
Author: U.S. Department of the Army
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2010-08-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1628730412

Military demolitions are the destruction by fire, water, explosive, and mechanical means of areas, structures, facilities, or materials to accomplish a military objective. The U.S. Army Explosives and Demolitions Handbook is a guide to the use of explosives in the destruction of military obstacles from the Department of the U.S. Army. This guide includes information on types, characteristics, and uses of explosives and auxiliary equipment; preparation, placement, and firing of charges; safety precautions; handling, transportation, and storage of explosives; deliberate and hasty demolition methods; and much more. Applicable to nuclear and nonnuclear warfare, and having offensive and defensive uses, the knowledge one will come away with from reading this handbook is invaluable.

Author:
Publisher: Delene Kvasnicka
Total Pages: 151
Release:
Genre:
ISBN:

Review of International Technologies for Destruction of Recovered Chemical Warfare Materiel

Review of International Technologies for Destruction of Recovered Chemical Warfare Materiel
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2006-11-02
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309180511

The Chemical Weapons Convention requires, among other things, that the signatories to the conventionâ€"which includes the United Statesâ€"destroy by April 29, 2007, or as soon possible thereafter, any chemical warfare materiel that has been recovered from sites where it has been buried once discovered. For several years the United States and several other countries have been developing and using technologies to dispose of this non-stockpile materiel. To determine whether international efforts have resulted in technologies that would benefit the U.S. program, the U.S. Army asked the NRC to evaluate and compare such technologies to those now used by the United States. This book presents a discussion of factors used in the evaluations, summaries of evaluations of several promising international technologies for processing munitions and for agent-only processing, and summaries of other technologies that are less likely to be of benefit to the U.S. program at this time.