Magazine Articles
Reprinted by courtesy of National Defense Magazine (December, 1999)
Defense Department facilities where soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines train for war increasingly are coming under fire from critics who claim military activities pollute the environment.
The military services, meanwhile, are seeking to address those concerns through the use of new technologies and management practices designed to make routine tasks more environmentally friendly.
Following is a selection of some of the most recent pollution prevention initiatives by the Defense Department.
Small Arms Range Technology
The U.S. Army currently is evaluating various technologies to cut back on pollution at small arms ranges.
One initiative involves testing bullet traps-devices designed to minimize the amount of lead that enters the environment after bullets are fired. Army officials also pointed out that there is a "green bullet" program under way that will produce lead-free training rounds.
Other efforts involve soil washing for small arms range remediation and maintenance and the development of a Range Evaluation Software Tool (REST).
Bullet traps may save the Army money on cleanup costs, officials said. During live-fire exercises, lead from small arms ordnance can contaminate surface and groundwater, which requires costly cleanups and may even close down a training installation.
The use of bullet traps, additionally, could lower the potential for ricochets from bullets, cutting down the amount of heavy metals being introduced in the environment and curtailing the erosion caused when bullets strike the earth.
The Army is looking at three different types of bullet traps: deceleration, impact, and friction. Deceleration traps are made up of round chambers that slow a bullet's path so that it will drop into a recovery container. Impact traps provide a barrier that deflects a bullet into a designated recovery area, and friction traps use rubber, composites or low-density concrete to impede a bullet as it pierces the barrier. The Army plans to recycle recovered bullets.
Soil washing for small arms range remediation and maintenance entails using physical separation and soil washing tools that remove toxic materials, while simultaneously allowing military installations to help lower the levels of ground contamination recycle reusable metals. This program is a joint venture between the Army Environmental Center and the Naval Facilities Engineering Center.
Older methods of range cleanup include land-filling and stabilization.
The REST program is based on a computerized database that stores the characteristics of 25 ranges. The software features commonly available topographical information, weather and range conditions needed to evaluate a site. The program is designed to demonstrate the effects of lead on a small arms firing range. Data, such as the number of rounds fired and soil conditions, can be entered into the system, and REST will determine whether or not there is a potential environmental problem on the range.
REST is a Windows-based application and works with a companion program called the Army Sampling and Analysis Plan (ASAP).
ASAP confirms traces of lead in air, surface water or groundwater using information provided by REST and instructs users how, when and where to collect water and soil samples.
'Zero Environmental Footprint'
In the future, U.S. troops will be able to deploy for a military contingency and, at the end of the operation, leave without causing significant environmental damage to the host country.
At least one company that specializes in pollution prevention techniques expects this will be the case. Hughes Associates Inc., of Baltimore, is working with military clients in devising new ways to recycle waste by-products so that they can be reused.
"A unit deployed in the field is like a little city," said Thomas Bush, Hughes Associates director of environmental and pollution prevention programs. "There, troops shower and use latrines, among other things. What if there was a way you can use waste to produce electricity on the field?"
Bush said his company will look at options such as recycling shower water to be used in latrines. "We want to move away from producing waste," he said. "Can we leave a zero environmental footprint?"
By recycling waste, troops may be able to cut down on unnecessary waste, said Bush. The pollution prevention techniques, he explained, would be far more cost effective than hiring cleanup crews or industrial firms to come in and remove waste.
The company currently works with the U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command under the so-called Pollution Prevention in Acquisition Program to consult on the effects of using specific solvents, the effects of hazardous materials and the reliability of filters designed to deter toxic agents.
Navy Replaces Toxic Solvents
The U.S. Navy is adopting new cleaning products in order to eliminate the use of solvents that potentially could be hazardous to human health.
Naval Air Station North Island currently is using an alternative cleaner to replace toxic solvents. The installation also has replaced conventional methods of corrosion control on small parts.
San Diego-based PDQ Precision Inc. makes the Mini-Max Cleaner - designed as an alternative to cleaning agents or solvents that generate hazardous waste and polluting air emissions. The Navy uses the system to clean small weapons, gas turbine engine parts and other small instruments.
The cleaner uses a solution called Arma-Sol that, when mixed with distilled or de-ionized water, creates a high-pressure, dry steam that removes contaminants from the object being cleaned. It is a self-contained, portable system.
Naval Air Station North Island also is evaluating a tumble blasting system designed to eliminate exposure of Navy personnel to hazardous corrosion. Old methods manual corrosion removal in a blast booth proved to be costly and exposed users to removed waste, according to a Navy report.
The new stationary, automatic system incorporates a glass bead blasting process in an enclosed tumble blaster. Users can perform other duties while the system is running.
The tumble blaster cleans components such as tie-down chains, nuts and bolts. During a 15- 20 minute process, the components are washed with a parts washer, cleaned, and then treated with a corrosion prevention compound, said the report.
The system also runs on a closed-loop. That means it does not require outside ventilation that can send hazardous fumes into the environment.
The tumble blaster currently is being used by Pacific Fleet maintenance crews for corrosion control on air-capable ships that have ground support equipment, such as tow tractors and dollies.
Wastewater System Gets High Rating
A St. Louis-based company, the MART Corporation, developed a wastewater treatment system called EQ- 1, which treats wastewater produced by aqueous parts washers. The technology is being marketed to the U.S. Air Force, company officials said.
These officials said the EQ-1 reduces hazardous wastewater by removing and capturing contaminants. The clarified solution is recycled and the contaminants are discarded.
According to an Air Force spokesman, the system received a positive rating by the Air Force's Management and Equipment Evaluation Program (MEEP). He explained, however, that the service does not endorse specific products and that its pollution prevention systems are purchased on a competitive award basis. The EQ-1 system captures the contaminants using a material called "Magic Dust," which causes contaminants to separate from the wastewater when it is mixed in. It can process a 250-gallon waste stream in about an hour, officials said.
