Completed
Regional focus
North America
Topics
This study, mandated in section 1421 of the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, is to look at contained technologies that can be used instead of open burning o open detonation to treat the munitions in the conventional munitions demilitarization stockpile.
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Consensus
ยท2019
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...
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Description
The Secretary of the Army shall enter into an arrangement with the Board on Army Science and Technology of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study of the conventional munitions demilitarization program of the Department of Defense. The study shall include the following:
A review of the current conventional munitions demilitarization stockpile, including types of munitions and types of materials contaminated with propellants or energetics, and the disposal technologies used.
An analysis of disposal, treatment, and reuse technologies, including technologies currently used by the Department and emerging technologies used or being developed by private or other governmental agencies, including a comparison of cost, throughput capacity, personnel safety, and environmental impacts.
An identification of munitions types for which alternatives to open burning, open detonation, or non-closed loop incineration/combustion are not used.
An identification and evaluation of any barriers to full-scale deployment of alternatives to open burning, open detonation, or non-closed loop incineration/combustion, and recommendations to overcome such barriers.
An evaluation whether the maturation and deployment of governmental or private technologies currently in research and development would enhance the conventional munitions demilitarization capabilities of the Department.
Contributors
Committee
Chair
Member
Member
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Sponsors
Department of Defense
Staff
Bruce Braun
Lead
Nia D Johnson
James Myska
Deanna Sparger
Major units and sub-units
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
Lead
Board on Army Science and Technology
Lead