ETL/EPA Workshop on Open Burning/Open Detonation (OB/OD) (Broker Inn, Boulder, Colorado 15-16 February 1995)

Abstract : The stockpile of outdated military explosives, ordnance, and propellants is large, dangerous, and growing rapidly. The preferred, most efficient, and most cost-effective method of destruction is the open burning (OB) or open detonation (OD) of the material, but because these methods release contaminants to the atmosphere, a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required. No routine procedures or guidelines currently apply to OB/OD activities. Therefore, a Workshop sponsored by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and EPA was convened in Boulder, CO to discuss regulations and procedures that do apply to OB/OD and to discuss potential problems and solutions regarding these methods of destruction. Workshop participants endorsed an enhance Gaussian puff model using local, recent meteorological input data from a mobile atmospheric observing platform (MAOP), and the characteristics of the model and the observing system comprised the major recommendations of the Workshop. The Workshop emphasized the urgent need for a more accurate characterization of the source, including the material, the amount and nature of the material released, the spatial distribution of the material, the heat released, the noise created, and other relevant quantities. Participants also discussed emerging technologies and capabilities that may be available during the next 3 to 5 years, that could facilitate greatly the ability to address the OB/OD problem.