Russia plans to turn almost 2 million tonnes of bombs, bullets, mines
and munitions into commercial explosives and materials for civil industry.
The US government is providing assistance, and its Trade and Development
Agency has commissioned ICI Explosives Environmental of Valley Forge in
Pennsylvania to work out if conversion is practical.
鈥楾his is more ammunition than was consumed in the Gulf War,鈥� says Bob
Morhard, the company鈥檚 vice-president. He expects the cache to yield 300
000 tonnes of explosives. The casings alone are likely to produce 500 000
tonnes of brass, aluminium and steel. However, Morhard expects the scheme
to run at a loss. He explained that each tonne of munitions costs around
$1400 to dismantle, so the whole job could cost $2.8 billion. Of this,
perhaps 30 per cent could be funded by selling recycled material.
