HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- Amanda Burton, 75th Civil Engineer Group’s Environmental Branch Chief, said detonation is the safest way to dispose of large rocket motors. The UTTR is the only permitted location in the United States for open detonations of large rocket motors, and more than 300 motors have been destroyed there since 2012.
Large detonations create sound waves, and before each operation at the UTTR, the Air Force runs an atmospheric prediction model to determine if conditions are acceptable for a detonation. If the model predicts that sound is going to exceed acceptable levels at locations along the Wasatch Front, the detonations are delayed.
“We want to do this work without adversely affecting our neighbors and the environment," Burton said.
No sound prediction model, however, can be 100 percent accurate all the time, she said. On a few occasions over the years, some residents in northern Utah have felt vibrations and shaking minutes after a detonation on the range, which is approximately 80 miles west of Salt Lake City in Utah’s West Desert.
“The current model we’re using is a fairly reliable tool in determining sound levels produced from a detonation, but atmospheric conditions can change between the time we run the model and the actual detonation, resulting in some potential noise,” Burton said.
Depending on weather conditions, one or two detonations are planned per week through September at the UTTR. This is subject to change based on weather, workload and other factors.