SEPS is focused on issues related to the human health, safety and environmental impacts associated with the manufacture, storage and use of propellants, explosives and pyrotechnics. Papers are invited that address all health effects associated with energetic compounds, precursors, combustion products, and waste products as well as safety concerns present during their intentional use, demilitarization, and accidents. New and emerging areas of interest include additive manufacturing of energetic materials, nanomaterials, insensitive high explosive formulations, and brain injury due to exposure to blast and overpressure.
The 34th Safety and Environmental Protection Subcommittee sessions will be organized into the topic areas described below. Please submit your abstract according to the interest area. Questions regarding the SEPS mission areas should be directed to the JHU WSE ERG Technical Representative for SEPS listed at the end of this section.
NOTE: If you meet the criteria of an Early Career Professional (Criteria: A student; Working in the field for less than five years; Have obtained your Doctorate within the last five years) you are eligible to submit a Poster Abstract for this subcommittee. For more information visit the Early Career Posters page.
Areas of interest included in the Call for Papers are:
This mission area examines the toxicity of energetic materials such as propellants, pyrotechnics, and munitions, their ingredients, combustion products, and related chemicals and subjects. Also of interest are the use of risk assessment methodologies in the management of toxic hazards and the rationale for the establishment of toxic material exposure criteria for the workplace and the environment.
Mission Area II is focused on atmospheric dispersion modeling and hazards assessment applied to propulsion activities. Subjects of interest include modeling transport and diffusion of propellant spills including both dense and trace gases, chemically reactive species, and aerosols; wind flow and dispersion modeling in complex terrain; model validation; source modeling; ozone depletion, ground cloud dispersal, and acid rain from launch vehicles; and models for emergency response systems. Experimental or theoretical work on other atmospheric hazards such as thunderstorms, lightning, wind shear, and precipitation are also welcome. Also includes addressing blast injury effects of new and emerging areas including additive manufacturing of energetic materials, nanomaterials, insensitive high explosive formulations.
Interests include instrumentation requirements, basic research, and hardware development of equipment used to measure hazardous environments. Presentations regarding work done in the measurement of hypergolic or other hazardous propellant vapors, oxygen/hydrogen propellant vapors, hydrochloric acid and other propellant combustion products, and other chemical hazards of interest to the propulsion community are sought.
The Environmental Mission Area is interested in papers that address environmental issues related to energetics and their by-products. Papers and presentations that address any of the following: techniques for measuring and predicting combustion products, environmental fate and transport of energetics and their by-products, emerging environmental regulations and their impact on energetic materials operations, environmental effects from propulsion-related activities, permitting requirements, hazardous waste treatment,, water and air pollution prevention, pollution control technologies related to energetic material production and use, waste minimization, operational ingredient reclamation, or recycling in the production of energetic materials.
Focus is on industrial hygiene aspects of energetic material production, transportation, use, and disposal. Areas of interest include personal protective strategies and equipment used in manufacturing and handling operations; ingredient and product monitoring methods and experience; operational ventilation strategies and experience; hazardous materials control; hazardous waste management; substitution of less hazardous materials in industrial processes and maintenance; and hazardous materials information, including labeling and material safety data sheets.
Range safety and explosives safety issues relevant to launch range safety risk assessments and other energetic material safety problems are the focus of this area. Papers are sought that address hazards inherent in solid and liquid propellant/explosive/pyrotechnic (PEP) materials manufacturing, processing, handling, storage, use and disposal; liquid and solid propellant explosive hazards; blast injury; quantity-distance criteria; shielding; and the hazards of damaged or aged propellants. Addresses new and emerging areas including additive manufacturing of energetic materials, nanomaterials, insensitive high explosive formulations, and blast injury.
Papers are sought on the development of environmentally sustainable energetic ingredients, formulations, and processing technologies with an emphasis on the following: reduction of impacts from energetic materials and unexploded ordnance on military ranges, manufacturing and demilitarization facilities; enhancement of recycling, recovery, reuse and reduction of waste; synthesis and development of energetics materials with reduced waste, solvents, and energy requirements; and response to specific impacts that environmental regulations have had on military readiness, such as limiting training with live ordnance, outsourcing of manufacturing overseas or explicit banning of the use of specific materials.
This area's focus is demilitarization, reclamation, and reuse technologies for propellant, explosive, and pyrotechnic (PEP) materials. Interest areas include: thermal degradation/treatment and incineration of PEP materials; chemical or mechanical separation, reclamation, and neutralization technologies; technologies that utilize sub- or super-critical fluids for reclamation or oxidation of PEP materials; biodegradation technology; reuse of energetic materials or ingredients for military and commercial applications; and research that addresses traditional disposal options, such as open burning/open detonation and static firing.
Review of accidents and incidents involving propellant manufacturing, storage, transportation, use, hazardous material spills, and transportation accident response. Topics of interest include lessons learned, post-accident procedures for liquid propellant spills, propellant spill response systems, spill mitigation activities, and transportation accident response computer systems.
Mr. William A. Bagley, JHU WSE Energetics Research Group / Columbia, MD
Telephone: (443) 718-5009
Email: wbagley@erg.jhu.edu