CONVENTIONAL AMMO DEMILITARIZATION

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

CONVENTIONAL AMMO DEMILITARIZATION

 A great deal of attention has been paid to the demilitarization 
of weapons of mass destruction - nuclear weapos, ICBMs, chemical 
weapons - that are covered by treaties, but the destruction - or merely 
the continued storage - of unusable conventional munitions could 
also pose a significant environmental risk.

 Recent data compiled by the Army Materiel Command 
suggests that the U.S. is preparing to dispose of vast quantities of 
such weapons. Presumably, other major powers - and many minor 
ones as well - also have surplus and obsolete weapons requiring 
disposal.

 The Army continues to oppose outside regulation of weapons 
demil - until the munitions are certified for disposal at a treatment or 
disposal site. But it recognizes that both open burning/open 
detonation and incineration are environmentally unsound. It is 
promoting recycing and reuse of weapons components, as well as 
treatment technologies that include supercritical water oxidation and 
plasma arc furnaces.

 Below are official projections for the quantities of 
ammunition entering the official ammunition demilitarization account 
each year. Please note, however, that by April 15, 1995 the FY 1995 
total had reached 126,000 tons, more than the amount projected for 
the entire year ending June 30.

Fiscal Year TONS

1995 124,855
1996 129,309
1997 94,658
1998 82,737
1999 74,275
2000 63,948
2001 62,014

TOTAL 631,796