of clean-up of Former Used Defense Sites (FUDS) and Former Toxic Chemical Agent Sites where munitions from all branches of service disposed of A&E by burial or dumping up until the end of the Vietnam War. The USATCES acts as the Army's safety watchdog for disposal of chemical ammunition at the Army's Chemical Disposal Facilities. As part of Army's Ordnance Corps under TRADOC Specially trained Civilian Explosives Safety Personnel [Quality Assurance Specialist (Ammunition Surveillance) (QASAS)] and Safety Specialist that have received specialized training in A&E Safety) from the USATCES are deployed worldwide, wherever the U.S. Army has A&E. Their mission is to provide A&E safety to the soldier, the public, and the environment making sure the Army's A&E is not only stored safely but ready, reliable, and lethal when the U.S. military needs it. Net Explosives Weight (NEW) The net explosives weight (NEW) is the total weight of all explosives substances in a single item. NEW is used to calculate safe separation distances (see Quantity-Distance). NEW for a specific explosive may be adjusted by its TNT equivalence which is the weight of trinitrotoluene (TNT) required to produce a shockwave of equal magnitude as that produced by one pound of the explosive in question. For example, C-4 has a TNT equivalency for overpressure of 1.34 (one pound of C-4 is equal to 1.34 pounds of TNT). Quantity-Distance (QD) Quantity-Distance (QD) is the foundation of DOD explosives safety standards. It defines levels of protection from blast based on relationships between the quantity of explosive material (NEW) and distance. The relationships are based on levels of risk considered acceptable for specific exposures but they do not provide absolute safety or protection. Exposures are expressed by a “K-factor” (K6, K18, etc.) which represents the degree of protection provided; higher is better. K328 equates to a blast overpressure of which will not harm people in the open. Blast Wave Phenomena A Blast Wave Phenomenon is an incident involving the violent release of energy created by detonation of an explosive device. The sudden and intense pressure disturbance is termed the “blast wave.” The blast wave is characterized by an almost instantaneous rise from ambient pressure to a peak incident pressure (Pi). This pressure increase or “shock front,” travels radially outward from the detonation point, with a diminishing velocity that is always in excess of the speed of sound in that medium. Gas molecules making up the