Explosives safety

Explosives safety originated as a formal program in the United States in the aftermath of World War I when several ammunition storage areas were destroyed in a series of mishaps. The most serious occurred at Picatinny Arsenal Ammunition Storage Depot, New Jersey, in July, 1926 when an electrical storm led to fires that caused explosions and widespread destruction. The severe property damage and 19 fatalities led Congress to empower a board of Army and Naval officers to investigate the Picatinny Arsenal disaster and determine if similar conditions existed at other ammunition depots. The board reported in its findings that this mishap could recur, prompting Congress to establish a permanent board of colonels to develop explosives safety standards and ensure compliance beginning in 1928. This organization evolved into the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board (DDESB) and is chartered in Title 10 of the US Code. Today, the DDESB authors DOD Manual 6055.9, Ammunition and Explosives Safety Standards. It also evaluates scientific data which may adjust those standards, reviews and approves all explosives site plans for new construction, and conducts worldwide visits to locations containing US title munitions.

The United States Air Force counterpart to the DDESB is the Air Force Safety Center (AFSEC/SEW). Similarly safety functions are found at major command headquarters, intermediate command headquarters and at unit level as the weapons safety office. Quantity-Distance (QD) has evolved into the foundation of DOD 6055.9-STD, Ammunition and Explosives Safety Standards. The current Air Force regulation governing explosives safety is Air Force Manual (AFMAN) 91-201. AFMAN 91-201 was written using DODI 6055.9 as a parent regulation, and in most cases will follow the limitations set forth in the DODI (excluding mission specific requirements). The Air Force deviates from DODI 6055.9 using AFMAN 91-201 as their primary source document to allow for deviation from many of the requirements of the DODI as long as the risks of doing so are accepted at the appropriate level.

The United States Army counterpart to the DDESB is the U.S. Army Technical Center for Explosives Safety (USATCES). The USATCES is located with the Defense Ammunition Center on McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, near McAlester, Oklahoma . USATCES is responsible for providing ammunition and explosives (A&E) safety worldwide by acting as the field office of the Department of Army Safety responsible for A&E safety. The USATCES also acts as the Army agency having safety oversight of clean-up of Former Used Defense Sites (FUDS) and Former Toxic Chemical Agent Sites where munitions from all branches of service disposed of A&E by burial or dumping up until the end of the Vietnam War. The USATCES acts as the Army’s safety watchdog for disposal of chemical ammunition at the Army’s Chemical Disposal Facilities. As part of Army's Ordinance Corps under TRADOC Specially trained Civilian Explosives Safety Personnel [Quality Assurance Specialist (Ammunition Surveillance) (QASAS)] and Safety Specialist that have received specialized training in A&E Safety) from the USATCES are deployed worldwide, wherever the U.S. Army has A&E. Their mission is to provide A&E safety to the soldier, the public, and the environment making sure the Army’s A&E is not only stored safely but ready, reliable, and lethal when the U.S. military needs it.

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