Department of Defense/Department of Energy joint demilitarization technology demonstration program-executive summary of phase I demonstrations-detonation of conventional weapons: 155-mm high-explosive M107 projectiles
Four experiments were executed from December 1996 through March 1997 within X-tunnel--the contained underground facility at the Department of Energy`s Nevada Test Site (NTS). These are the first large-scale detonation experiments performed in a contained environment with sampling of the effluents. These experiments, conducted under the direction of the U.S. Army Defense Ammunition Center in Savanna, Illinois, determined the detonation products from 155-mm, high-explosive (HE) M107 projectiles, destroying 6, 24, 24, and 60 projectiles, respectively. These tests were the first phase of a series designed to examine the environmental effects of open burn/open detonation (OB/OD). The tests included performing continuous sampling with online analysis of chamber gas and discrete sampling with offline analysis of bulk gases, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), metals, and particulates. In addition to these routine measurements, the application of a tunable diode laser (TDL) for measuring bulk gases and a real-time particle analysis instrument was demonstrated in the underground chamber. A series of three rocket motor burn experiments immediately followed these experiments (see the companion to this report, ``Executive Summary of Phase II Demonstrations: The Low-Pressure Rocket Motor Burns in X-Tunnel``). As the first in a series, the data presented here should be considered preliminary. However, several tentative conclusions may be drawn from these detonation experiments: (1) The emissions of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulated materials were found only in trace levels. (2) In general, metals detected in the residue and particulate samples were dominated by metals already present in the chamber and concrete. (3) There were no releases of metals that exceeded current regulatory limits.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 658940
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID-131252; ON: DE98058851; CNN: W-7405-Eng-48
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jul 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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