Environmental Impact Assessment
There are extensive, ongoing disarmament and demilitarization processes in Europe and other continents due to the closure of military establishments and post-conflict situations.
These processes have created a significant international challenge in the demilitarization of surplus ammunition and weapons systems, which prevent redistribution and reuse.
Explosive ordnance and weapons systems often incorporate chemicals and substances that are harmful to personnel and the environment if not handled, demilitarized or destroyed using appropriate techniques. It is therefore vital that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) be conducted prior to undertaking such activity.
Within the European Union (EU) and many other countries, an EIA is now a legislative procedure to be applied to the assessment of the environmental effects of certain public and private projects that are likely to have significant effects on the environment.
What is an Environmental Impact Assessment?
An EIA is a technique that can be used for identifying the environmental effects of engineering and development projects. An EIA requires a scoping study to be undertaken in order to focus the assessment. This can be carried out in the field or as a desk study depending on the nature and scale of the proposed project.
Environmental Impact Assessment's are equally applicable to many activities involving the current and past use of land used for military training, demilitarization activity and destruction of explosives, weapons and weapons systems.
Examples of application
Examples of typical scenarios where EIAs can be applied are:
- The proposed use of land for military firing ranges.
- The handover and development of Former Use Defence Sites (FUDS).
- Ammunition demilitarization technology.
- Open burning/open detonation (OBOD). techniques applied to specific munitions.
- Weapons and weapons systems demilitarization technology.
A Threat Resolution Ltd (TRLtd) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) provides our clients with an objective assessment of potential environmental impact on which investment decisions can be based.
