REGULATIONS, STANDARDS, AND OVERSIGHT

There is currently no common international or European standard, legislation, or compliance mechanism that specifically addresses ammunition demilitarization by commercial contractors.

This may complicate, and in some cases prevent, the development of a systematic, multinational approach to ammunition demilitarization. Within NATO, Standardization Agreement 4518 provides a brief—and outdated—overview of the demilitarization process and available techniques, but it was not written to provide industry standards (NIAG, 2010, p. 171). National legislation usually does not regulate the destruction of military ammunition by civilian industrial contractors. To process military ammunition, industrial contractors must therefore apply a patchwork of civilian explosives industry legislation and for certain activities, such as OB and OD, they may adapt military guidance.

Seemingly unrelated legislation and civilian regulations affect the demilitarization industry indirectly. Changes to regulations in the areas of environment, safety, and staff training requirements can have effects on demilitarization practices. There is also a complex framework of regional, national, and even local rules subjecting demilitarization activities to various local permits and licences. In the United States, for example, the demilitarization of munitions requires compliance with numerous local, state, and federal regulations, most of which require air emissions permits and chemical release reports (Thompson, Kennedy, and Nordquist, 2004).

US and Western European contractors usually know these constraints well because they have a direct impact on their business. However, client governments and national programmers may find this regulatory framework complex and opaque.