The US has finally decided to make TNT again, but there are oddities Part 1
Let’s start out that there are most likely no laws broken, or ethics regulations violated, but there are some oddities that we should talk about here. There is also a need to manufacture TNT in the US, which is idiotic that this ever stopped. So, here we are at a point where we have a plant finally being built after 40 years. This is the first part of going into the rabbit hole of something people should know about.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/tnt-us-revives-world-most-235636451.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/army-says-us-restart-domestic-235412669.html
There has been no TNT made in the US since 1986, mostly because of environmentalists. Now, in Kentucky, there will be a new plant being built, thanks to Mitch McConnell. This all sounds good, as this should never have happened, but here we all. Then you get to truly digging into this mess, and it gets to looking rather odd, on multiple levels.
There are a lot of facts in this, but it will show that there is not a whole lot of common sense involved with the new plant. There, for that matter, are quite a few reasons to believe there are some shenanigans. From the company choice to funding, people should be paying attention.
Why TNT manufacturing stopped in US
Here, via an Interesting Engineering article on Yahoo, had to say about why TNT manufacturing stopped in the US.
In 1986, all forms of TNT production ended in the United States. This decision was based on
several social and environmental issues.
The process of manufacturing TNT includes the use of some highly toxic substances, which are risky to the health of the workers and the surrounding ecosystem.
In addition, undiluted waste materials, especially those from TNT production processes, can pose an extreme risk, as they tend to contaminate the soils and water bodies surrounding the plants.
Such dangers were recognized as early as the 1980s, and considering that cost-effective means to manage the processes of trinitrotoluene production did not exist in the USA, the country stopped producing this explosive.
Moreover, the military could stock more than enough ready-made TNT and seek less environmentally and safety-hazardous explosives with the same functionality.
With the evolution in explosive technology, it was possible to make new explosives such as RDX and HMX, which served military purposes but were more stable when stored and had less impact on the environment.
Manufacturing Starting
Let us talk about the fact that the government is paying for a private company to build a factory that they will massively profit from. The company is an American subsidiary of the Turkish company Repkon. Repkon is also working with General Dynamics to supply equipment for the new artillery shell factory in Texas.
Here is what the AP has to say about the plant funding.
The U.S. Army awarded a $435 million contract on Friday to build a TNT production plant in western Kentucky that will become the first domestic source for the explosive material in decades, officials said.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a key player in securing the funding, said the new facility in his home state is part of a broader retooling of the U.S. defense industrial base that's needed to deter adversaries abroad. Trinitrotoluene, or TNT, is used in artillery shells, bombs and grenades.
Establishing domestic production of TNT is vital for national defense, the Army said. The current supply chain for the crucial explosive material is entirely reliant on overseas sources, it said.
The new TNT plant in Kentucky is part of the Army's strategy to ramp up munitions production to ensure the U.S. military has “timely access to essential resources,” said Maj. Gen. John T. Reim.
"It is not lost on us that victory on the battlefield begins in our production facilities,” Reim said during the announcement at a VFW post near where the plant will be built. “Today marks the beginning of the return of TNT production to American soil, a capability we have not had since 1986.”
The contract was awarded to Repkon USA to construct the plant at Graham in Muhlenberg County, about 136 miles (219 kilometers) southwest of Louisville. The project is expected to create about 200 to 250 construction jobs and about 50 permanent jobs.
At least GD is willing to show that connection.
https://www.gd-ots.com/new-artillery-projectile-metal-parts-facility-in-mesquite/#
The DOD is not wanting to announce that a Turkish company is involved.
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3791962/army-opens-new-munitions-facility/
This is the first part of what will take several weeks to show all the information.
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