Fort Lee CASCOM Safety Team Partners with DLA Strategic Materials to Recycle Radioactive Commodities, Germanium – a commodity critical to national security | Article

FORT LEE, Va. — The Fort Lee Combined Arms Support Command Safety Office is partnering with the Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Materials — the nation’s lead agency for strategic material reclamation — to recycle valuable commodities from obsolete military equipment. Although the items contain elements such as germanium and tungsten, officials emphasize the materials were always encased and securely stored, posing no hazard or contamination risk to personnel or the surrounding area.

The effort recovers germanium found in lenses for mid- and long-wavelength infrared devices while improving safety across the installation through proper equipment disposition.

The project targets equipment that has been idle for years. While many of these devices contain hazardous components that require specialized handling during disposal, CASCOM leaders said the items were stored in sealed containers under controlled conditions and have not endangered Soldiers, civilians or contractors working nearby. By recycling the equipment rather than stockpiling it, the Army avoids costly disposal fees and reclaims materials for future production of military weapon systems.

“These site sets and equipment came from our former 91G military occupational specialty in Miley Hall back in 2010. When the MOS changed over, the equipment became obsolete,” said Tanesha J. Allen, division chief at Toftoy Hall. “I am amazed at how the Army has transitioned since then to the safer equipment we use today.”

Obsolete optical devices can contain components requiring special handling once disassembled, but DLA Strategic Materials contracts with Soldier Systems D-Mil, which specializes in safely breaking down equipment, isolating precious and reusable materials and removing radioactive and other hazardous elements under stringent controls.

At the start of the process, Dave Landry, a DLA commodity logistics specialist, placed the devices under an X-ray fluorescent spectrometer — a machine that shoots a beam of energy into the material, then reads the light signals bouncing back. Like a scanner peeling away layers, the spectrometer reveals which metals and elements are inside.

“We send this to our recycler, and all of the radioactive waste is recycled,” Landry said. “All other parts that aren’t germanium get recycled for use in the future.”

All materials are then transferred by DLA’s Germanium Recycling Program to an offsite, veteran-owned small business, where they remain fully contained during processing. Officials stressed that at no point does the operation expose personnel to hazardous substances.

“Working on the GeRP program is one of the most rewarding parts of my job because of the outstanding collaboration among our team members,” said Nancy Albertson, a DLA physical scientist. “The military disposition services’ strong support of the GeRP mission makes the experience even more meaningful.”

The United States relies on imports for more than 50 percent of its germanium needs, and nationwide consumption totaled about 30,000 kilograms in 2022, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Soldier Systems D-Mil currently recovers about 3,000 kilograms of germanium each year — nearly 10 percent of the nation’s annual need — for use in night-vision and thermal-sensing devices in platforms such as Abrams main battle tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Apache helicopters and naval systems.

Most germanium lenses and windows are coated with thorium, a radioactive element, or carbon that must be removed before recycling. The veteran-owned small business uses a self-contained process with water-based, environmentally friendly solvents to disassemble the scrap and remove the coating. Nearly 99 percent of all processed material is recycled, ensuring almost nothing goes to waste and maintaining strict containment of hazardous components.

“When it comes to germanium — one of the most critical materials for defense optics — the process is even more efficient, with less than 1 percent lost and 99 percent successfully reclaimed,” said John Solomonides, president and CEO of Soldier Systems D-Mil.

The savings come two ways: first, by avoiding the steep costs of hazardous material disposal, and second, by reintroducing valuable metals into the supply chain. Germanium, for example, is a critical material for defense optics and communications systems, while tungsten is widely used in munitions and industrial applications. Both are expensive to mine and refine, making recovery economically significant.

“This entire process started in 2023, so to see everything that has been sitting here for a long time removed and creating a safer environment for our military professionals to train in, well, it’s a breath of fresh air,” said Kevin A. Wiggins, armament and electronics training department supply technician. “We had to work with our safety professionals here at Fort Lee and with DLA to really get this process moving forward in the right direction.”

DLA also coordinates how recovered materials are processed and reused, ensuring that nothing of value is wasted and that all hazardous waste is handled according to federal standards without ever posing risk to staff or trainees.

Vanita Fielder, CASCOM senior safety and occupational health manager, said the effort is about more than just dollars and cents — it’s also about protecting Soldiers and civilians working and training on post.

“With this DLA partnership, CASCOM has divested 7,328 pounds of equipment valued at $4,228,212 at no cost to our command and with the benefit of saving the Department of Defense valuable commodities and resources,” Fielder said.

By removing obsolete and potentially hazardous equipment — which was securely stored until removal — Fort Lee not only frees up valuable storage and training space but also advances Army-wide sustainability goals.