Environmental Aspects of Energetic Materials Use and Disposal

Abstract

Management of the environment is an important part of the legal frameworks in most nations. Defense and space are not exempt from the impact of this. Therefore, work is in progress on greener technology for all aspects involving explosives and propellants. The problem of minimizing environmental impact is often defined with reference to new materials; new ingredients that appear to offer a way to reduce the impact of a system and provide ways of making a greener munition. However, new materials are less well understood, and therefore, the risks they may pose may in reality be greater than those of existing materials and they can therefore offer an illusion of compliance. Toxicity estimation is therefore a significant requirement to manage such risks. Further, any attempt to manage the impact requires an understanding of the whole life of the system, which is a part of Whole Life Assessment (WLA). Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is therefore a critical part of future approaches to environmental management. However, much of that data is missing though may be intelligently estimated, though any estimation needs to be critically reviewed and updated. This understanding complements on that performance and vulnerability and contributes to the development of a true whole life cost approach. The lines of research and the present state of the art for environmental management are outlined.