Examination of Protocols for The Collection of Munitions-Derived Explosives Residues on Snow-Covered Ice

摘要

Range contamination and sustainability are major issues for the United States military. Training is a critical factor in force readiness, and the availability of ranges is crucial to this need. To determine the impact of training on ranges, data are required on the deposition of explosives residues from live-fire and blow-in-place detonation of munitions. A method of sampling on snow-covered ranges, the discrete sampling method, was developed by the Army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory to determine residues from the detonation of munitions. Although very effective, it requires the collection of many large samples, resulting in labor-intensive field operations and much processing and analysis work in the laboratory. By examining sampled locations within detonation plumes, it appears that collection bias may be affecting the results. There was also no methodology for quality assurance in the collection of the samples. We have examined the process currently in use and carried out a series of experiments to determine whether bias and sample quality issues are present in the sampling technique. Alternative methods of sample collection that afford a greater opportunity for quality control were examined and compared to the discrete sampling method. The recommended alternative sampling protocol is to collect multi-increment samples, and experimental results using this method are presented.