Predicting Fate of Munitions Constituents in the Environment

Contamination of military grounds during training activities with legacy and newly developed munitions constituents is a concern from environmental and military standpoints. Characterizing the pathways that can contribute towards the transport and fate of energetic compounds in the environment is necessary to determine the risk of contamination, and the need for any remedial measures. Energetic compounds are deposited as formulations on the training grounds as a result of low-order detonations. In this study, established processes that influence release, movement, and transformations of energetic compounds are combined to outline relationships that quantitatively characterize their contribution based on environmental conditions. We used HYDRUS-1D software for simulating water flow and solute transport in porous media to predict the time needed for the energetic compounds to reach groundwater depending on local conditions. Simulations were conducted using known climate, soil properties, and depth to the groundwater for locations across the United States. In this work, we evaluate the risk of groundwater contamination due to dissolution and transport of the munitions in the soil. The results will be used in the development of an integrated framework for predicting fate of energetics in the environment