Development of an Environmental Fate Simulator for New and Proposed Military-Unique Munition Compounds
ER-1736
Objective
The Department of Defense (DoD) is responsible for assessing the environmental exposure resulting from testing and training activities associated with military munitions. Of greatest concern is the potential for off-site exposure to these materials and their degradation products, primarily as a result of movement through surface waters and underlying aquifers. Modeling systems and databases currently exist where the user is responsible for defining the individual chemicals and their properties necessary to conduct chemical exposure and risk assessments. This data is required for input into the U.S. Army Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) and the Adaptive Risk Assessment Modeling System (ARAMS).
The objective of this project is to develop a Framework for Risk Analysis of Multimedia Environmental Systems (FRAMES)-based Environmental Fate Simulator (EFS) that will provide managers of military training and testing ranges estimates of the vulnerability of aquifers and surface waters to new and proposed energetic materials and their potential transformation products. The work will provide physicochemical properties of parent and progeny for the eventual seamless consumption by modeling tool sets for assessing environmental exposure and subsequent human/ecological receptor health risks associated with loading and fate/transport of residual energetic materials (and their degradation products).
Technical Approach
This project will assimilate existing data for the purpose of developing computational tools necessary to provide environmental fate data for conducting exposure/risk assessments of new and proposed munition chemicals. The components of the EFS will include a computational tool for calculating physical and chemical properties of new and proposed munitions based on chemical structure, a reaction pathway simulator for predicting transformation pathways and products, and linked databases populated and measured/calculated with molecular descriptors necessary for predicting physical transport and chemical reactivity.
Benefits
A computational tool and modeling system will enable range managers to assess the vulnerability of range sites, based on site characteristics and contaminant type, to off-site exposures. Because the ability to assess environmental risk is based in part on chemical structure, range managers will have the ability to perform environmental assessments of proposed munitions such as CL-20, for which limited environmental fate data exists. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2013)
Points of Contact
Principal Investigator
Dr. Eric Weber
U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD)
Phone: 706-355-8224
Fax: 706-355-8202
Document Types
- Fact Sheet - Brief project summary with links to related documents and points of contact.
- Final Report - Comprehensive report for every completed SERDP and ESTCP project that contains all technical results.
- Cost & Performance Report - Overview of ESTCP demonstration activities, results, and conclusions, standardized to facilitate implementation decisions.
- Technical Report - Additional interim reports, laboratory reports, demonstration reports, and technology survey reports.
- Guidance - Instructional information on technical topics such as protocols and user’s guides.
- Workshop Report - Summary of workshop discussion and findings.
- Multimedia - On demand videos, animations, and webcasts highlighting featured initiatives or technologies.
- Model/Software - Computer programs and applications available for download.
- Database - Digitally organized collection of data available to search and access.