Army Chemical Review presents professional information about Chemical Corps functions related to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, smoke, flame, and civil support operations.
Issue link: https://chemical.epubxp.com/i/141522
The ongoing research effort to investigate the impact of
sea-dumped munitions on the surrounding environment is
funded by the U.S. Army and led by the University of Hawaii.
According to the principal investigator from the University
of Hawaii, "[The University of Hawaii] partnership with the
U.S. Army and [the prime contractor] signifcantly increased
Hawaii's and the world's understanding of sea-disposed munitions—how they were disposed in the past and how they have
deteriorated right up to the present time." And she added, "The
forthcoming feld program will hopefully allow us to expand
our understanding of the potential environmental impact of
munitions that may contain chemical agent and develop methods for monitoring and modeling future deterioration."
Photo courtesy of Environet, Inc.
U.S. Army and University of Hawaii personnel are in the
process of fnalizing the research report for this latest mission.
During the next phase of the project, performance differences
between human-occupied submersibles and remotely operated
vehicles will be evaluated. The collaborative team also plans
to use new instruments and sensors to improve visual mapping
and munitions sampling.
Lasting Partnerships as Foundations for
Sustainable Change
Crew members wait to dock the submersible vehicle on the
deck of the research vessel.
Partnership With the University of Hawaii
In November 2012, an ECBC Chemical Biological
Application and Risk Reduction team worked with the
University of Hawaii for the second time since 2009, supporting
a 2-week Hawaii Undersea Military Munitions Assessment
project. The project involved the investigation of sea-disposed
military munitions off the southern coast of Oahu, Hawaii.
Following World War II, conventional and chemical munitions (including 16,000 mustard-flled M47A2 bombs) were
discarded in the Pacifc Ocean south of Pearl Harbor.2 Under
the Hawaii Undersea Military Munitions Assessment project, a
three-person, submersible vehicle—which contained a pilot, an
explosive ordnance disposal expert, and a Chemical Biological
Application and Risk Reduction scientist—was deployed to
the ocean foor 5 miles off the southern coast of Oahu, where
World War II era chemical warfare munitions were located at a
depth of 550 meters. The Chemical Biological Application and
Risk Reduction team performed an on-site chemical analysis
of 165 sediment samples, fve water samples, and 36 samples
of shrimp tissue collected from within 10 feet of the abandoned
munitions. The quality of this unprecedented analytical effort
matched that of analyses typically conducted at a fxed ECBC
laboratory.
Summer 2013
The partnerships that ECBC has established with universities across the country have not only advanced the ECBC mission to better protect the warfghter, but have also underscored
a shared vision for innovation by scientists everywhere. The
commitment and dedication demonstrated by researchers and
engineers in academic programs and Army laboratories have
helped foster a spirit of collaboration in a climate of change.
As enduring threats continue to evolve and the impact of demilitarization efforts continues to be studied, ECBC partnerships with universities fuse necessary resources with experienced personnel who are capable of solving the most complex
CBRNE issues.
For more information, please visit the ECBC Web site at