Description:

In the past, OB/OD generally occured in the surface of the land or in pits. Recently, burn trays and blast boxes are being used in an attempt to control and contain the destruction of energetics and resulting contaminants/emissions. In detonation processes the blast box may be below grade and covered with soil to further minimize the release of emissions.

OB/OD operations can destroy many types of explosives, pyrotechnics, and propellants. OB areas must be able to withstand accidental detonation of any or all energetics being destroyed, unless the operating OB technicians recognize that the characteristics of the materials involved are such that orderly burning without detonation can be ensured. Personnel with this type of knowledge must be consulted before any attempt is made at OB disposal, especially if primary explosives are present in any quantity.

OB and OD can be initiated either by electric, burning, or energetic charge ignition systems. In general, electric systems are preferable because they provide better control over the timing of the initiation. In an electric system, electric current heats a bridge wire, which ignites a primary explosive or pyrotechnic, which, in turn, ignites or detonates the material slated to be burned or detonated. If necessary, safety fuses, which consists of propellants wrapped in plastic weather stripping, are used to initiate the burn or detonation. In some cases, scrap energetics or dried activated carbon from pink/red water treatment may be used as the initiation charge.

Synonyms:

NA

Applicability:

Limitations:

• Minimum distance requirements for safety purposes mean substantial space is required for open processes.
• OB/OD operations emissions are difficult to sufficiently capture for treatment and may not be permitted in areas with emissions limitations, although subsurface processes minimize emission release.
• In open OB/OD operations, prevailing winds must carry sparks, flame, smoke, and toxic fumes away from neighboring facilities. OB/OD operations are never conducted during sand, snow, or electrical storms strong enough to produce static electricity, which might cause premature detonation.
• OB/OD requires a RCRA Subpart X permit.
• In addition, with growing OB/OD restriction, DOD's ability to treat energetic wastes is diminishing and energetics disposal, through OB/OD, may be eliminated.

Data Needs:

• Location plan for proposed OB/OD operations showing adjacent land uses and safety buffer zone.
• Emissions requirements for the geographic area of the OB/OD operation.

Performance Data:

• DOE's molten salt technology,
• U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory's (CERL) pyrolysis of energetic materials,
• U.S. Army Research Laboratory's supercritical fluid technology for nitramine recovery,
• U.S. Army Research and Development Engineering Center's (ARDEC) single- and multi-base propellant recovery technologies,
• Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Indian Head Division's supercritical fluid propellant extraction process,
• Armstrong Laboratory's hydrothermal oxidation for propellant destruction, and
• Holston Army Amunition Plant's (AAP) recovery of waste explosives.

Cost:

References:

Innovative Remediation Technologies:  Field Scale Demonstration Project in North America, 2nd Edition

Groundwater Cleanup: Overview of Operating Experience at 28 Sites, September 1999, EPA 542-R-99-006,

Potential Applicability of Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment Technologies to RCRA Waste Streams and Contaminated Media, August 2000, EPA 542-R-00-004

Treatment Experiences at RCRA Corrective Actions, December 2000, EPA 542-F-00-020

Abstracts of Remediation Case Studies, Volume 4,  June, 2000, EPA 542-R-00-006

Guide to Documenting and Managing Cost and Performance Information for Remediation Projects - Revised Version, October, 1998, EPA 542-B-98-007

Teer, R.G., R.E. Brown, and H.E. Sarvis, June 1993. Status of RCRA Permitting of Open Burning and Open Detonation of Explosive Wastes, Presented at Air and Waste Management Association Conference, 86th Annual Meeting and Exposition, Denver, CO.

USAF, 1990. Explosives Safety Standards, Air Force Regulation 127-100.

USAMC (U.S. Army Materiel Command), 1985. Explosives Safety Manual, AMC-R, 385-100.

Not Available.

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A list of vendors offering In Situ Physical/Chemical Treatment is available from  EPA REACH IT which combines information from three established EPA databases, the Vendor Information System for Innovative Treatment Technologies (VISITT), the Vendor Field Analytical and Characterization Technologies System (Vendor FACTS), and the Innovative Treatment Technologies (ITT), to give users access to comprehensive information about treatment and characterization technologies and their applications.

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