The Large Item Transportable Access and Neutralization System (LITANS) is designed to treat large recovered chemical warfare materiel items.
LITANS was developed by the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Project (now the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate) to complement the Explosive Destruction System (EDS). Although the EDS can treat 75mm rounds, 4.2-inch mortars and Livens projectiles, it cannot treat large recovered chemical warfare materiel (RCWM) items, such as 500-pound and 1,000-pound bombs and ton containers filled with chemical agent. LITANS can serve as a backup to the EDS for treating large RCWM items that are not explosively configured.
Inside the munitions glove box, operators access the item and sample the chemical agent fill without touching the item. All subsystems are mounted on individual trucks or heavy equipment hauling trailers, making them ready for transport at any time.
Operators transfer agent from the munition into a 575-gallon reactor for neutralization. Next, workers drain waste neutralent from the reactor into waste drums on the reagent skid. Operators then ship these waste drums to a permitted disposal facility for final treatment.