- Client:Louisiana Military Department
- Site:Camp Minden, Louisiana, USA
- Date:October 2016
Situation
Following an explosion in a storage magazine used to store Clean Burning Igniter (CBI) at Camp Minden, Louisiana, a decision was made by the Louisiana Military Department (LMD) and the United States Department of the Army to quickly dispose of the remaining CBI in two other magazines on base. The remaining two magazines held 200,000 pounds of CBI, along with 40,000 pounds of M6 propellant. The approved method of disposal was by initiating a controlled burn. In order to initiate the controlled burn safely, explosive risks presented by any potential residual explosive accumulations by the magazine door, cavities and floor needed to be removed. Removing the explosive risks in the door cavities and entrance into the magazine would allow the doors to be opened safely. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel from the Army’s 797th Ordnance Company and 79th Ordnance Battalion from Fort Hood, Texas was assigned the mission to execute the controlled burn of the explosives. MuniRem® Environmental was contracted by the LMD to apply its MuniRem® solution on the magazine doors and floors to create safe passage for the EOD team to perform the controlled burn.
Solution
After a thorough review of the chemistry of decomposing unstable nitrocellulose (CBI) a customized formulation of MuniRem® was developed, prepared and shipped to the site in powder form. The MuniRem® powder was dissolved in water to prepare a concentrated (i.e., high strength) MuniRem® solution that was sprayed to the magazine doors. The application of the MuniRem® solution to each magazine door and floor was performed at least eight hours before the EOD team remotely opened the door.
Result