Perspective on DoD’s Efforts Relating to

Legacy Underwater Military Munitions

(UWMM)

Geoff Carton, CALIBRE Systems, Inc

3rd International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions

Sopot, Poland - April 2011

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Agenda

• Sources of munitions in US coastal waters

• Munitions disposal in US coastal waters

• Disposal of chemical warfare material (CWM) in US

coastal waters

• Sea-disposal methods

• Release of munitions constituents

• Research on the effects of ocean disposal of

munitions

• Field research

• Uncertainties

• Conclusions

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Sources of UWMM in US Coastal Waters

• Live-fire testing and training

– Current (ongoing)

– Past (e.g., closed installations, defense sites, such as forts,

coastal artillery batteries)

• Combat operations (Acts of war through WWII)

• Sea disposal (ended in 1970)

• Accidents (periodic) and disposal (e.g., jettisoning)

during emergencies

Munitions Disposal Sites in

US Coastal Waters

• Policies for disposal established as early as 1917

• Evolved becoming more stringent and defining depths

and locations

Year Distance from shore Minimum depth

1917 (Navy) “Totally unserviceable powder and chemicals … shall be condemned to be thrown overboard or otherwise destroyed.” It is unclear if this applied only to ships supplies or also included cargo. Application to munitions is also unclear.

1920

(War Department)

“They [CWM] should not be thrown into water, and care must be taken that they are not buried

near sources of water supply.” Prohibition may not have applied to saline waters

1928 (Army) Allowed to be “placed on barges and towed out to sea”

1941 (Army) Not specified Deep ocean

1944

(War Department)

10 miles Deep place or ledge sloping seaward

1944 (Navy - OCONUS) Not specified 300 feet (April);

600 feet (December)

1945

(War Department)

10 miles 600 feet (April & August)

900 feet (June)

1945 (Navy) 10 miles 900 feet (April)

3,000 feet for conventional munitions

6,000 feet for CWM (December)

1946 (Navy &

War Department)

10 miles 3,000 feet for conventional munitions

6,000 feet for CWM

1949 (Army &

Air Force)

10 miles 6,000 feet

1951 (Army) 10 miles 6,000 feet

1969 (Army) – Emergency

Only

10 miles 6,000 feet

1973 (Army) Prohibited Prohibited

DoD Guidelines on Disposals In US Coastal Waters

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• Department of Defense (DoD) ended sea disposal in 1970

• DoD policy and guidelines provide an indication of locations:

− Ranged from 8 to over 400 kilometers (5 to over 250 miles) from shore

− Depths ranged from 15 to 4,875 meters (50 to 16,000 feet)

• Designated sites

− Were generally 260 square kilometers (100 square miles)

− Posted on nautical charts

− May have been used by others for disposal of industrial and municipal wastes

• DoD disposal methods

− Loose or “over the side”

− Consolidated in ship hulks and scuttled

• DoD used for:

− Chemical warfare material (CWM )

− Conventional munitions

Munitions Disposal Sites in US Coastal Waters

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Source: Chapter 10, Sea Disposal of Military Munitions, FY 09 Defense Environmental Programs Annual Report to Congress (ARC)

CWM disposal site

Known Munitions Disposal Sites in US Waters - Pacific

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Source: Chapter 10, Sea Disposal of Military Munitions, FY 09 Defense Environmental Programs ARC

CWM disposal site

Known Munitions Disposal Sites in US Waters - Atlantic & Gulf

Disposal of CWM in

US Coastal Waters

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About 29,000 metric tons of chemical agent is known to have been was

disposed in US coastal waters

• Events ranged from a few chemical munitions or containers to 1,000s of

metric tons

• Individual items were a few grams to over 1,135 kilograms (2,500 pounds)

Source: Chapter 10, Sea Disposal of Military Munitions,

FY 09 Defense Environmental Programs Annual Report to Congress

Lewisite, 41%

Mustard, 52%

Nerve agent

(GB, VX, GA),

1%

Arsenic, AsCl3,

Cl2S2, 2%

Phosgene, 0%

Unspecified agent,

3% Blood agents

(CK, AC), 1%

Quantity of CWM Disposed in US Waters

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Percent of chemical agent disposal by kilometers from shore

Percent of chemical agent disposal by depth in meters

Graphs based on net chemical agent weight, FY09 ARC data

Over 3,050 (10,000 ft)

61%

1,830-3,050 (6,000-10,000

ft) 7%

305-1,829 (1,000-5,999 ft)

28%

Under 305 (1,000 ft)

2% Unknown 2%

Unknown 2%

Under 19 (10 NM)

2%

19-185 (10-100 NM)

63%

Over 185 (100 NM)

33%

Location and Disposal Depth in US Coastal Waters

Sea-Disposal Methods

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Over the Side Disposal Operations

Results in linear

trails such as

seen in the above

SONAR data

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Consolidated Disposal Operations

Release of Munitions

Constituents (MC)

Condition of UWMM is highly varied due to numerous factors

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Release of High Solubility Fill

Release of Low Solubility Fill

Distribution of Releases

Figures after MEDEA, 1997

It is just a matter of time

Release of Munitions Constituents (MC)

Public Law 109-364, Section 314,

Research on Effects of Ocean

Disposal of Munitions

• Identification of disposal sites in US coastal waters

• Identification of navigational and safety hazards

• Research

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• Intensive (four year) archive research on DoD sea

disposal-operations completed, but research continues

• DoD published:

– Initial report on sea disposal operations in its Fiscal Year 2006

(FY06) Annual Report to Congress (ARC)

– Updated annually, with final report published in Fiscal Year 2009

• DoD

– Continues its 3Rs explosive safety education efforts

– Provides information to National Oceanic Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) to update nautical charts

Identification of Sea Disposal Sites and Hazards

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• Strategic Environmental Research and Development

Program (SERDP):

– Has conducted meetings to determine research needs

– Is funding research

• Army Environmental Quality Technology (EQT)

continues to fund research

– Ordnance Reef (HI-06), Oahu, Hawaii – conventional munitions,

shallow (30 to 300 feet)

– Hawaii Undersea Chemical Weapons Assessment (HUMMA)

(HI-05) – deep water 900 to 1,500 feet

– Corrosion study of munitions

• NOAA International Marine Corrosion Workshop

• Modeling of munitions and contaminant migration

Research

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• Education is integral to risk management

• Focus is on preventing behaviors (touching

or disturbing) that may lead to injury

• Guiding principles:

Munitions are dangerous

Consistency of message is important

Message must be easy to remember

and accessible to all ages

Speed information to affected communities

Standardize materials reduce time lag and level of effort

www.denix.osd.mil/uxosafety

3Rs Explosives Safety Education Program

Field Research

Army research in Hawaii:

• Hawaii Undersea Military Munitions Assessment

(HUMMA) at Hawaii Site 5 (HI-05)

• Ordnance Reef (HI-06)

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• Develop efficient and cost effective method for

characterizing sea disposal sites

• Site depths are over 350 meters

• South of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

• SONAR survey of about 70 km2

• Manned submersibles and ROVs

• Seawater, sediment and biota analyzed

• Investigation report completed 2010 is available

from (www.hummaproject.com)

• Additional SONAR survey planned for 2011 to

south of original study area

HUMMA (HI-05) – Funded under Army EQT

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HUMMA Photographs

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• Army and Navy funded NOAA (2006) to conduct survey to provide screening-level data about explosives safety and public heath risks

• Army, with public, state and federal input, determined risks were within acceptable limits, but data gaps existed

• University of Hawaii (UH) completed (2009) two rounds of sampling, remedial investigation (RI) to address data gaps – Focus on human health

– Screening-level ecological risk assessment

• Army solicited and considered community and state concerns during planning

• RI (sampling results) and risk assessment report expected in 2011

• Corrosion assessment planned

Ordnance Reef (HI-06) – Funded under Army EQT

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• Army technology demonstrations

(summer 2011) of commercial technology:

– Recovery technology is adapted from oil

exploration technology for the remote

recovery of sea disposed munitions

– Munitions demilitarization technology,

although proven, but its barge-mounted use

is a unique (untried) application

– Army will use NOAA’s input prevent and

minimize any inadvertent injury to coral and

other benthic habitats

Ordnance Reef (HI-06) – Demonstrations

Uncertainties

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• Records relating to munitions input (quantities

and types) are incomplete

• Except in the case of fixed firing points,

locations and distributions are highly uncertain

• Condition of munitions

• Knowledge of impacts to the environment are

not well defined

Uncertainties

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Conclusions… • Situation in the United States differs from that in Europe

• DoD is focused on developing a science to understand

of the effects of sea-disposed munitions on the ocean

environment and those that use it

• To date, the risks to human health and the environment

from UWMM and MC in the marine environment appear

to be acceptable – well below federal risk criteria

• The inadvertent recovery of UWMM and the intentional

handling of UWMM presents the greatest potential risks

• More study is needed to understand the potential risks

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Geoff Carton CALIBRE Systems, Inc

Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Geoff.carton@calibresys.com

Formerly Used Defense Sites

with Watered Areas in DoD’s Military

Munitions Response Program

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• FUDS are properties that were formerly : – Owned by,

– leased to, or

– otherwise under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense

• DoD is responsible for environmental restoration of FUDS

• Watered Areas impacted by munitions at FUDS are generally: – Former Ranges

– Sites that may have been flooded (e.g., area dammed)

– May include piers where munitions being handled were dropped into water

Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS)

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• Some UWMM were in poor

condition at time of disposal

• Drums often failed on disposal

• Some UWMM remain in

seawater for extended periods

without corroding

Corrosion

Leak

Condition of Sea-Disposed UWMM