Toxic Legacies of War: Human Health and Environmental Consequences of Military Munitions and Energetic Compounds

This structured toxicological overview synthesizes evidence on the acute and chronic human health hazards, ecological disruption, and remediation challenges associated with residues from both energetic munitions and metallic ammunition components. The review covers literature published between January 2000 and August 2024, with inclusion of seminal foundational studies prior to 2000, identified through systematic searches of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and TOXNET/Toxline. The scope encompasses diverse military theaters including active combat zones (e.g., Balkans, Iraq, Gaza), legacy marine dumpsites (e.g., North Sea, Baltic Sea), and active/abandoned military training and firing ranges in North America, Europe, and Asia. Search terms combined munitions-specific keywords (depleted uranium, TNT, RDX, HMX, DNAN, NTO, lead ammunition) with toxicological and environmental endpoints. Best-studied hazards include depleted uranium, lead, cadmium, copper, antimony, trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX), and newer insensitive munitions (DNAN, NTO). These substances produce acute toxicity, chronic renal, hepatic and neurological injury, developmental and reproductive toxicity, oxidative stress, and carcinogenic risk via inhalation, ingestion, dermal absorption, embedded fragments, and food-chain bioaccumulation. The health burden is sustained by unexploded ordnance (UXO), abandoned ranges, and legacy dumpsites. This article highlights the need for green munitions design, systematic biomonitoring, and integrated environmental remediation.