ESTCP demonstrators are currently in the field collecting data for the latest ESTCP Classification Pilot Program project at the former Fort Ord, in Monterey California. Fort Ord is a closed installation that has an ongoing munitions response program managed by the United States Corps of Engineers Sacramento District on behalf of the Fort Ord Base Realignment and Closure Office.

The ESTCP demonstration site is located within Units 11 and 12 of the Impact Area Munitions Response Area (MRA). A range of munitions were previously indentified onsite and include 37mm, 40mm, 57mm, 60mm, 75mm, 90mm, 105mm, and 155mm projectiles. The site presents challenging conditions with high subsurface metallic densities, but it also includes areas of low and moderate densities, allowing technology evaluation for a wide variety of conditions.

In this project, CB&I Federal Services is deploying the MetalMapper (MM) sensor to identify and classify munitions through dynamic and cued data collections on three to five acres of Units 11 and 12. The demonstrators are collecting data in areas of relatively high, medium, and low metallic densities. Primary goals of the project are to demonstrate if (1) large munitions such as 155mm projectiles at depths to two feet and (2) smaller munitions such as 40mm projectiles can be confidently classified within areas of challenging high metallic backgrounds suspected to contain a variety of munitions. A subset of buried metallic items will be dug to verify classification technology performance. Results from this demonstration are expected in the spring of 2015. The project team will utilize the ESTCP results to evaluate the applicability of advanced classification technology as a basis for future treatability studies at the site.