On the analysis of environmental risks associated with the possible leakage of chemical warfare agents during transportation and disposal of munitions

Abstract

The work shows that environmental risks associated with various mechanisms of leakage of chemical warfare agents (CWA) into the environment at small temperature variations are probable in the conditions of storage, transportation and destruction of the CWA-filled munitions. A considerable degree of integrity loss in munitions becomes possible during heating to several tens of degrees higher than the storing temperature due to the plastic deformation of the casing. Heating to higher temperatures leads to a complete loss of integrity by means of the destruction of the shell parts. Relevant computation formulas for the quantitative assessment of the consequences of the thermal effect are given in the present contribution. © 2006 Springer.