Estimates for Explosives Residue from the Detonation of Army Munitions
Abstract
Snow was used as a collection medium to examine explosives residues following the high-order detonation of various military munitions. After detonation, a set of large (1-sq m ) samples of residue-covered snow were collected, processed and analyzed for explosives without cross contamination from previous detonations and other potential matrix interferences. Trials were performed to quantity explosives residues following the detonation of 60-, 81-, and 120-mm mortar rounds, 105- and 155-mm howitzer rounds M67 hand grenades. 40-mm rifle grenades, blocks of C4, several different types of land mines, bangalore torpedoes, and a shaped demolition charge. Munitions were detonated following both common military live-fire and blow-in-place techniques. When possible, the same munition was detonated several times using the same conditions to provide a more reliable estimation of the percentage of high explosives that were deposited on the snow surface. In addition to using the snow surface as a collection medium, aluminum trays and steel plates were used in some of the detonation trials. The blowing in place of TNT-filled munitions often resulted in the deposition of near-percent levels of TNT from the main charge that was estimated to lead to mg/kg concentrations in surface soils. When we observed high concentrations of TNT in residue samples, often 2,4-DNT, 2,6-DNT, TNB, 2-ADNT, and 4-ADNT were also present at much lower concentrations. In contrast, the percentage of high explosives deposited from live-fire detonations of Comp-B-filled howitzer rounds, mortar rounds, and hand grenades was always less than 0.002%, leading to low g/kg or ng/kg surface soil concentrations. Overall residue deposition from live-fire-high-order detonations was much lower than for munitions destroyed using blow-in-place techniques. Detonation residues for other munitions that were evaluated fell between these two ranges.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA417513
Entities
People
- Alan D. Hewitt
- Jeffrey A. Stark
- Marianne E. Walsh
- Thomas A. Ranney
- Thomas F. Jenkins
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center