Environmental Protection

Chaff, aluminum-coated glass fibers spread by planes, ships, and ground vehicles to evade enemy radar, has been used by the military since World War II. Members of Congress have raised concern about the Defense Department's continued use of this material without adequate knowledge of its long-term environmental effects. This report discusses (1) the extent and locations of chaff use, (2) its reported known and potential effects, and (3) initiatives to address chaff's unintended effects.

GAO noted that: (1) chaff is used worldwide in conjunction with military training, testing, and other assigned missions; (2) in fiscal year (FY) 1997, the Air Force reported using about 1.8 million bundles worldwide, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft used more than 354,000 bundles and 593 rolls, and Navy combat ships used about 10,000 large bundles; (3) DOD records indicate that FY 1998 inventories include more than 37 million bundles and more than 141,000 rolls of chaff; (4) the Air Force holds about 77 percent of the bundles, while the Navy and Marine Corps hold all the rolls; (5) the Army has some mission needs but possesses and uses little chaff in peacetime training or testing; (6) while DOD components report that chaff is an effective means of defense for aircraft, ships, and related weapons systems, DOD and other agencies have identified some unintended and potential side effects of chaff; (7) chaff can affect safety by interfering with air traffic control radar; (8) chaff can also affect weather radar observations and the operation of friendly radar systems, especially when vehicles stir up chaff that has settled on the ground; (9) the services have a number of ongoing initiatives to address concerns about the unintended and potential effects of chaff; (10) for example, DOD has entered into or is negotiating agreements with other federal agencies to address issues related to commercial air safety, weather forecasting, and environmental impacts on public lands; (11) also, the Navy has started a program to develop degradable chaff that is estimated to cost about 40 percent more than the current chaff; (12) while intended as beneficial, the Navy has not yet defined the operational and environmental benefits that could result from this program; (13) notwithstanding DOD's actions, some concerns continue to be raised by the public and federal agencies about the potentially harmful or undesirable effects of chaff on the environment; (14) also, some of DOD's studies cite additional areas where questions have been raised about the unintended effects of chaff; (15) DOD has not systematically followed up on these questions or on the recommendations of these reports to determine whether they merit additional review; and (16) DOD continues to retain lead-based chaff in its inventory even though this type of chaff has not been manufactured since 1987 and is reportedly no longer in use.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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