NSWC/WOL/TR 76-161 



I. INTRODUCTION 



Agencies of the Federal Government are required by law to 

 consider environmental factors during the planning and conduct of 

 all programs and to monitor these activities to assure conformance 

 to accepted standards. This responsibility extends to experimental 

 programs and includes the underwater testing of explosives. 



Studies have shown that these tests can be conducted in such 

 a way as to have negligible environmental impact, and procedures 

 are generally followed to reduce the unavoidable effects to an 

 acceptable level. 1 Nevertheless, a need exists for relatively simple 

 procedures that can be followed to monitor the environmental impact 

 on a continuing basis as a routine part of an experimental program. 

 Techniques are needed for biological, physical, and chemical effects. 



The procedures can serve the following purposes: 



1. to provide an objective basis for a decision to delay 



or move the tests if fish kill or other effects exceed an acceptable 

 level; 



2. to provide statistical data on fish populations and 

 biological effects that can be used for planning purposes; 



3. to detect unanticipated effects at an early stage; and, 



4. to provide information on new chemical explosives or 

 procedures. 



Efforts have been made to evaluate fish kill on Naval Surface 

 Weapons Center explosive test programs at Indian Head and Solomons, 

 Maryland over a period of years, and these observations have been 

 used for guidance and for the preparation of environmental impact 

 assessments. However, the evaluations were strongly dependent on 

 the skill of the observer, and the recorded information was not 

 always consistent from year to year. 



During the week of 3-7 May, 1976, a limited number of tests 

 was conducted at the Naval Surface Weapons Center Facility at 



1. Young, G. A., 1973: Guide-Lines for Evaluating the 

 Environmental Effects of Underwater Explosion Tests, 

 NOLTR 72-211, Naval Ordnance Laboratory, White Oak, Maryland, 



