Assessment of Inhalation Health Risks to Residents fromAmy Munitions Training

摘要

A critical aspect of any armed force is readiness. One way readiness is achieved is throughtraining in real life or near to real life situations. The US Army conducts these types of trainingon ranges located throughout the country. In recent years concern has been raised for the healthof residents living near these training ranges who may breathe emissions from the munitionsitems used during training exercises. The US Army Center for Health Promotion and PreventiveMedicine (USACHPPM) and the US Army Environmental Center (USAEC) have partnered toaddress these concerns through emissions characterization and risk assessment. A munition itemis first tested in a specially designed chamber in order to characterize what chemicals at whatconcentrations are being released from the item upon functioning. This information is then fedinto an atmospheric dispersion model to determine chemical concentrations downwind of thefunctioning. These concentrations are then combined with human exposure assumptions andtoxicity data in order to assess chronic and acute health risks and hazards to residents from asingle munition item. This methodology produces results that are not site specific due to the useof generic exposure assumptions and meteorological conditions. Site-specific assessments areplanned by combining single munition items to represent an exercise on a range, and by usingsite specific factors such as meteorology and topography.