POLLUTION ABATEMENT IN THE MILITARY EXPLOSIVES INDUSTRY
J. W. Patterson, Associate Professor
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois 60616
N. I. Shapira, President
Norman I. Shapira Consultants
Dunkirk, Maryland 20754
J. Brown, President
John Brown Consultants
Berkeley Heights, New Jersey 07922
INTRODUCTION
This paper summarizes the results of a two-year study performed for the Office of
Research and Development of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.   The purposes
of the study were two-fold:   (a) to define, and characterize from available data, wastewater effluents from the military explosives and propellants production industry; and
(b) to identify and assess water pollution abatement procedures appropriate to the industry, including manufacturing changes, water management programs, and wastewater
treatment technologies.
The military organizations encompassed in this study include the U.S. Army, the U.S.
Navy and the U.S. Air Force.   The methodology employed in the study involved the
identification, collection and evaluation of available data on wastewater effluents and
means of pollution abatement.
The data base for the study was derived from published and unpublished reports, and
from onsite visits made by the project team.   Visits included:   (a) for the Air Force, two
command centers and four production facilities; (b) for the Navy, one command center
and eight production facilities; and (c) for the Army, one command center, three research
and development installations, and five production facilities.
A total of 24 sites were visited during the course of the study.   In addition to the information gathered through site visits, the final project report [1] references over 230
technical sources of additional information.   This is the most comprehensive study which
has been conducted to date to characterize and identify pollution abatement procedures
for wastewaters of the military explosives and propellant industry.
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
The American military munitions industry is government-owned, and individual production facilities fall into one of two categories:   Government Owned-Contractor Operated (GOCO), and Government Owned-Government Operated (GOGO).   Table I presents
a list of military production facilities.   Operations are divided into manufacturing plants;
manufacturing plus load, assemble and pack (LAP) facilities; and plants involved in LAP
activities only.   "Manufacture" involves production of an explosive or propellant or intermediate product from raw materials.   "Load, Assemble and Pack (LAP)" involves the
loading of an explosive or propellant product into a munition.
The Army owns 17 "Army Ammunition Plants (AAPs)" engaged in explosives and/or
propellants activities.   All are GOCO facilities.   Seven AAPs engage only in manufacture.
Sunflower AAP, not shown in Table I, is on stand-by status.   Eight AAPs are involved
only in LAP activities, which include the mixing, blending and loading of explosives or
propellants into munitions.   Two AAPs, Joliet and Lake City, engage both in manufacture and LAP.
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