Impact of munitions corrosion processes on groundwater contamination and techniques for their safe and cost-effective disposal: A case study of a village

Abstract

The relevance of the study lies in the fact that the ammunition that has entered the groundwater (deeper than 250 m), as a result of its disposal, poses serious threats to the entire Donetsk region water area. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of munitions corrosion on the aquatic environment and to consider the most effective and environmentally friendly methods of disposal. To conduct the research following scientific methods were used: methods of analysis, deduction, synthesis, and formalization method. It was found that each method of ammunition disposal led to a negative impact on the environment both in the short and long term. The literature of recent developments in munitions corrosion and munitions recycling was analyzed. It was summarized that there was an urgent need to introduce a system for cleaning up contaminated territories, to take control over the implementation of legislative environmental standards, to use new biological methods for elimination of the consequences of the impact of ammunition on the ecosystem of the region, and to switch to more environmentally friendly types of weapons. The practical value of the article is in search of ways to prevent an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe in the war zone in the East of Ukraine

Keywords

• open burning
• uranium
• disposal
• toxic substances
• water and soil contamination