The Department of Defense (DoD) owns and operates major industrial facilities that help protect and defend the nation by manufacturing and repairing military equipment, weaponry, and munitions. SERDP and ESTCP investments optimize manufacturing, maintenance, operation, and decommission activities to reduce unnecessary use or exposure to chemicals of concern.
Defense assets are made from and depend on the availability of commodity chemicals and materials. Regulations on the use of emerging chemicals of concern underscore the importance of identifying and producing safer chemical alternatives. We invest in the development of novel materials to improve supply chain resilience, reduce costs, and increase safety and efficiency of operations.
SERDP and ESTCP support the DoD's transition to PFAS-free firefighting foams by developing innovative formulations, testing commercial formulations against military specifications, evaluating the ecotoxicity of new formulations, and assessing cleaning methodologies for aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) trucks that previously contained PFAS-based formulations.
Corrosion costs the DoD billions of dollars annually and heavily impacts the availability of defense assets to carry out their missions. SERDP and ESTCP are developing and demonstrating the science, tools, and techniques needed to meet critical defense performance criteria while also reducing the impact on the environment and protecting the health of DoD workers and military personnel.
The production of energetic materials and munitions utilizes hazardous materials and produces significant quantities of waste material and air or range emissions during testing and training. SERDP and ESTCP are investing in the development and demonstration of alternative materials and synthesis processes to reduce the environmental and occupational safety and health impacts of energetic materials and munitions while maintaining critical performance criteria.
DoD operations produce a variety of emissions and are energy and material intensive. SERDP and ESTCP are developing solutions to reduce emissions from DoD operations.
