The UXO Classification Demonstration at the Former Camp Butner, NC

Abstract : Unexploded ordnance (UXO) are munitions that were armed and fired but did not explode. Their risk of detonation remains, even decades after initial use. Thousands of sites in the United States are suspected of UXO contamination and require remediation. As much as 75% of current remediation costs may be associated with digging up nonhazardous scrap metal called clutter, instead of UXO. The development, validation, and acceptance of reliable technologies to correctly classify buried targets as UXO or clutter could lead to a significant reduction in UXO remediation costs, allowing more land to be cleared for the same amount of funding. The Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) carried out the third live-site UXO classification demonstration at the former Camp Butner, NC in 2010. The main goal of the demonstration was to test and validate currently available and emerging classification technologies on a live site under operational conditions. Another goal was to involve environmental regulators, program managers, and other stakeholders in the design, execution, and evaluation of the demonstration to better understand what might be required in a real-world remediation project if detected targets were classified as clutter and therefore left in the ground.