JB MDL Partners with U.S. Army Support Activity again to destroy WWI era munitions

APG(EA), MD, UNITED STATES

05.05.2022

Story by Sarah Lobos and Karen Nikol

Army Chemical Materials Activity

JB MDL Partners with U.S. Army Support Activity again to destroy WWI era munitions

By U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity Public Affairs U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity/Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. –

The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity (CMA) Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate (RCMD) is partnering with Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL) for a second mission to destroy World War I-era chemical munitions. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, RCMD maintains the U.S. Army expertise and technology to assess and destroy recovered chemical munition items in a safe, environmentally sound manner using specialized capabilities.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) discovered a total of six 75mm projectiles at JB MDL’s Parachute Jump Circle while investigating and removing chemical munitions, munitions of explosive concern and/or munitions constituents from two disposal pits. Under RCMD management, experts from 20th CBRNE Command (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive) over packed the items in Multiple Round Containers, allowing for safe assessment, transport and storage pending their destruction.

Operators used RCMD’s non-intrusive assessment technology to identify the contents and explosive capability of the projectiles without opening them, reducing the threat to public safety. The Materiel Assessment Review Board (MARB), comprised of Army subject matter experts in chemical research and operations, used the field assessment data and historical records to determine four out of six projectiles contained a mustard agent fill and recommended destruction in RCMD’s Explosive Destruction System (EDS).

“Planning and execution with RCMD and the regulatory agencies (EPA and NJDEP) has gone smoothly just as it did with the previously successful July 2016 mission," said Michael Figura, environmental engineer and project manager for the Environmental Restoration Program (JB MDL) Installation Support Section.

RCMD will deploy its EDS to treat the mustard-filled projectiles. The EDS uses cutting charges to explosively access chemical munitions before neutralizing the chemical agent. The system’s main component – a sealed stainless-steel vessel -- contains all blast, vapor and fragments from the process.

The EDS site layout at JB MDL is set up in accordance with all applicable laws and permit requirements, ensuring the safety of workers and protection of the environment.

"The Explosive Destruction System was invented for missions like this. There's layers and layers of safety," said Derek Romitti, CMA's EDS project manager.

As an additional layer of safety, the EDS is placed within an environmental enclosure, which filters the air to ensure it is safe before it is released to the environment.

To date, RCMD has conducted more than 3,300 assessments in the United States and treated more than 3,800 items using the EDS.

For more information on the RCMD mission at JB MDL, visit https://www.cma.army.mil/jbmdl.

• Date Taken: 05.05.2022
• Date Posted: 05.05.2022 15:02
• Story ID: 420066
• Location: APG(EA), MD, US