Naval Surface Warfare Center
Indian Head Division
Indian Head, MD

For more than a decade, the Navy's Best Manufacturing Practices (BMP) survey process has been a primary avenue for industry and government to present individual and distinctive success stories in management and manufacturing disciplines. For those organizations seeking to advance their overall manufacturing performance, the BMP program has provided validated and documented best practices. These practices, verified on-site by BMP survey team members, have served as a model for improvement in business and industry and as a tool to promote teaming.

In 1995, industry and government representatives discussed the idea of broadening the BMP program's scope to incorporate success stories submitted by industry. The objective was to find an efficient, cost-effective way to share a greater volume of information on the latest technology and business developments. Since the BMP program had a proven approach for sharing success stories, this seemed to be a logical expansion.

The practices in this report were submitted to the BMP Center of Excellence by Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, Indian Head, Maryland as an example of some of the latest developments in the environmental area. They are considered to be best practices or success stories, however, they were not validated by an on-site BMP survey team. Our goal is to help industry and government keep pace with the rapid changes taking place in the business, manufacturing, and environmental communities.

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division (IHDIV) is located at Indian Head, Maryland, employs more than 2,000 people, and encompasses approximately 3,400 acres of land divided between two peninsulas along the eastern shore of the Potomac River. The larger peninsula is designated as the IHDIV; the smaller peninsula (about 1,100 acres) is designated as the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Stum Neck Annex IHDIV command, while operations at Stump Neck Annex are conducted by a tenant of IHDIV, the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division (NAVEODTECHDIV). In addition, the Naval Explosive Ordinance Disposal School, (NAVSCOLEOD), which is also a tenant, conducts operations both mainside and at Stump Neck.

IHDIV is the oldest continuously operating Naval ordinance facility in the United States. Established in 1890 as a proving ground for Naval guns, the Activity has evolved from a 'powder factory' to a critical source of specialized ordinance devices and components serving the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The main production focus is energetic materials. Some examples of these materials are propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics. Energetic materials are used for the nation's defense in items such as aircrew escape propulsion systems, rocket motors, mines, mine countermeasures, torpedoes, and warheads. IHDIV has full-spectrum capabilities in energetics research, development, engineering, manufacturing technology, limited production, industrial base support, test and evaluation, and fleet/operation support. As a tenant command of the IHDIV, the NAVEODTECHDIV's mission is to provide explosive ordinance disposal technology and logistics management for the Joint Services; and develop war essential elements of intelligence, equipment and procedures to counter munitions both U.S. and foreign, as required to support the Department of Defense.

IHDIV's mission is to work on energetic products for all areas of Naval Warfare. While a significant portion of the work is performed for the Army, Air Force, and private defense contractors, IHDIV primarily works Navy unique ordinance, i.e. ordinance unique to surface combatants and submarines. Another facet of IHDIV's mission is to develop production sector. In time of war, IHDIV has the technical expertise to kickstart the nation's dormant ordinance industry.

TABLE OF ACRONYMS:
The following acronyms were used in this report:

Background: Source reduction is the Navy's top priority for solid waste diversion from landfills. It includes elimination, reuse, substitution and minimization of products to reduce quantity of waste produced. The Navy's second priority in diverting waste from a landfill is recycling. Although recycling is not new to the management of solid waste, it is gaining wider acceptance as a viable approach to the solid management and disposal problems. If present refuse generation rates continue, the costs for disposal of solid waste will jump dramatically by the year 2000. State mandated recycling goals and increased public awareness is resulting in an increased amount of material being recovered for recycling. Although costs associated with recycling are increasing, recycling is considered to be a worthwhile solid waste management tool even at a net loss in order to conserve landfill space.

Navy policy requires all naval activities to develop and implement Solid Waste Management Plans. It is the essential tool for developing and maintaining a solid waste program that is in compliance with all Federal, State, and local regulations, and DoD/Navy instructions. The IHDIV's Solid Waste Management Plan addresses the management of solid waste including a detailed description of its Recycling Program.

Description: The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Subtitle D, encourages solid waste management practices that promote environmentally sound disposal methods, maximizes the reuse of recoverable resources, and fosters resource conservation. The Maryland Recycling Act of 1988 establishes a requirement for Maryland counties to plan and implement a recycling system. Charles County has mandated a reduction of the county's solid waste stream by 15%.

Results: As a resident and also one of the largest businesses operating in Charles County, IHDIV is committed to an effective recycling program. In FY 95, IHDIV recycled 30% of its solid waste, saving approximately $50,000 in disposal costs. Although IHDIV's recycling program is not a profitable one, it reduces solid waste going to the landfills and saves money in disposal costs. The following materials are collected for recycling purposes at IHDIV:

Aluminum Cans Plastic
Glass High-grade White Paper
Cardboard Telephone Books
Office Waste/Junk Mail Magazines
Newspapers Tires
Fluorescent Bulbs Laser Printer Cartridges
Used Oil Antifreeze
Lead-acid Batteries Scrap Metal

A challenge for IHDIV continues to be education and awareness. To overcome this challenge, information on recycling is disseminated through articles and base-wide e-mail messages. Additionally, Departments are provided with the appropriate material necessary for recycling, such as white paper, office waste recycling boxes, desk-top convience boxes, and beverage can recycling containers.

Background: Disposal of spent photographic and X-ray processing and printing solutions is expensive. The waste generated by these processes typically contain elevated concentrations of heavy metals, organic compounds, and other toxic constituents, unacceptable for direct discharge to a sewer system. There are however, various technologies that can be applied to treat certain solutions prior to disposal and/or recover constituents of the waste streams which have value (e.g. silver recovery from specific photographic process wastes).

Description: The most concentrated silver-containing waste in film and image processing is spent or excess fixer bath solution. In a typical film developing operation, fixer solution is continuously added to maintain solution strength. As a result, there is generally an overflow of fixer from the bath. The concentration of silver in the overflow may vary greatly depending on type and amount of film processed. Because of this high silver concentration, silver recovery from the fixer solution is cost effective. Additionally, if this highly concentrated silver solution is disposed of, it would be a hazardous waste.

Results:The IHDIV has implemented an Electrolytic Silver Recovery System (ESRS) to recover silver from its photographic process wastes. The present ESRS is centrally located and requires transportation of spent fixer from the generation points. The fixer is processed until the recovery.

Background: Recycling is a viable alternative to single use/disposal of toxic solvents. It is environmentally benign, and reduces the amount of solvent purchased and disposed. Although capital, operating, and training costs are not negligible, most solvent recycling systems are less expensive to operate than the purchase of virgin solvent and disposal of spent solvent.

Description: In 1993 IHDIV purchased a solvent recovery distillation unit, or still. The still was not universal and could only distill low flammable solvents.

Results: The purchase of the still paid for itself almost immediately ' a cost of $12,665 compared to the cost of one 55 gallon drum of virgin Trichloroethane (Trich) at $1992. Another savings for IHDIV is in disposal costs which in the early 1990s was paying .22 per/pound. Currently, the only waste disposal costs are for the still bags contaminated with sludge after the Trich distillation is complete. (Trich is used for degreasing metals parts).

Background: Wastewater discharges from energetics manufacture often leave residual levels of nitrate esters in the effluent. To meet the regulatory effluent limit, IHDIV engaged in a vigorous project to construct seven facilities housing carbon adsorption treatment trains. The outstanding efforts of the engineers resulted in rapid transition through lab-scale testing to two subsequent pilot scale efforts of 4-inch and 10-inch columns, and then full scale testing of the actual carbon adsorption canisters. Within a short period, IHDIV had installed and commissioned carbon adsorption treatment trains which remove nitrate esters from wastewater from explosive and propellant production and processing plants.

Description: The current process successfully treats all wastewater from two nitrate production facilities which produce up to six different nitrate esters including nitroglycerin, propylene glycol dinitrate (PGDN), and others, and a propellant extrusion/machining operation which contains nitroglycerin. The carbon trains reduce nitrate concentrations as high as 6,000 ppm to nondetectable levels and treats up to 3 million gallons of wastewater annually.

Results: The most dangerous and persistent problem encountered in this process is the off-gassing of the contaminated carbon when fully loaded. This problem has been reduced by decreasing the loading on the carbon.

Background: Traditional methods for treating industrial wastewater discharges from energetics manufacture leave residual levels of nitrate esters and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the effluent. IHDIV studied the feasibility of using high intensity ultraviolet (UV) light, hydrogen peroxide, and ozone for the destruction of nitrate esters in wastewater. The goal of this study was to determine if the UV/oxidation process is capable of decomposing each of the nitrate esters such that the residual level in the wastewater streams would be less than 1 ppm. Data indicated that in all wastewater streams, the parent nitrate ester decomposed more effectively by UV hydrogen peroxide than by UV alone, reducing the nitrate ester concentration in wastewaters from 1,500 ppm to below 1ppm.

Description: IHDIV engineers and scientists designed and installed a full scale photo-oxidation process for removing nitrate esters NG (nitroglycerin), PGDN (propylene glycol dinitrate), TEGDN (triethylene glycol dinitrate), and TMETN (trimethylolethane trinitrate), and other contaminants from process waste waters. The system uses UV light and hydrogen peroxide to destroy organic materials in the wastewater, and attains a destruction efficiency greater than 99.9%. The UV/oxidation wastewater treatment process for nitrate ester contaminated water provides an attractive alternative to other treatment methods for several reasons. It uses high-intensity UV light and a choice of oxidants, such as hydrogen peroxide or ozone, to decompose organic contaminants rather than removing and concentrating them on another medium which then must be treated.

The process consists of an automated, PLC-controlled batch treatment system with four reactors. The reactors emit high-intensity (30 kw) UV light, and are used in combination with a hydrogen peroxide supply system, wastewater cooling tower, and automatic pH control to treat the process wastewater.

The following are projects initiated and implemented as a result of equipment upgrades in the Extrusion Plant to reduce the amount of propellant scrap by approximately 68%. These upgrades will also provide state-of-the-art ram extrusion and annealing capability for IHDIV's Ordinance Department.

Reduced Diameter Extrusion Dies
New dies with smaller diameters and more efficient cooling jacket will allow a smaller grain to be extruded under given extrusion parameters. The new die design has been implemented with encouraging results.

Upgraded Press Control and Hydraulic Power Systems
The press control upgrades consist of removing the present relay control circuitry and fixed flow control valves and replacing them with a programmable logic controller (PLC), a computerized operator interface, proportional pressure and throttle control valves, and a communications connection via fiber optic cable to the extrusion office's computers. These upgrades and improvements will allow the extrusion of propellant billets that require less machining to meet size requirements with less propellant scrap at the press operation.

New flying Press Cutters
A new generation of automatic press propellant strand cutters will more precisely 'rough cut' the propellant strand from the press into equally sized billets automatically. Features of the new cutters will include a device to help center and guide the newly formed propellant strand away from the die, and electronic encoder which will accurately measure each billet length, a clamping mechanism to help produce straighter cuts, and the ability to recognize, cut, and sort 'pressneck' rejects.

Carpet Roll Weight Control
Control of the weight and diameter of carpet rolls received from the supplier will ensure exact propellant charge weight of 'pressneck' rejects can be accurately predicted and minimized.