Techniques to Improve the Environmental Safety of OB and OD Operations
Abstract
The three methods commonly used to dispose of unneeded PEP material are: (1) incineration; (2) disassembly, recovery, and recycling (DRC); and (3) burning or detonating in the open (OB, OD). Although incineration and DRC are the environmentally-preferred methods of disposal, they cannot presently be used on many items in the inventory for one or more of the following reasons. First, the composition is either unknown, unstable, obsolete or has degraded. Second, they cannot be safely disassembled. Third, the financial and environmental expense of developing a recovery and reuse technology for them cannot be justified based on the quantity in the demil inventory or the commercial value if the material that would be recovered. For these materials, OB and OD are the only disposal techniques currently available and, thus, they continue to be an integral part of all nations PEP demil programs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 27, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA350714
Entities
People
- Chris Biltoft
- Elain S. Oran
- James L. Wilcox
- Jay P. Boris
- W. Mitchell
Organizations
- Environmental Protection Agency