16    REMEDIATION OF HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATED
SOIL USING CHELANT EXTRACTION:
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
Robert W. Peters, Environmental Systems Engineer
Gregory Miller, Research Assistant
Energy Systems Division
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, Illinois 60439
INTRODUCTION
Military training exercises during the past several decades at the Grafenwohr Training Area (GTA)
have required the firing of a wide range of weapons and weapon systems on a number of firing ranges
and target areas. The types of weapons used during these live-fire exercises extend from small arms
and hand grenades to artillery, tanks, and helicopter gun-ships. One environmental consequence of
these firing exercises has been the deposition of potentially large quantities of heavy metals, such as
lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and explosive residue onto the soils of firing ranges and target areas
at GTA. Thus, it is expected that elevated concentrations of some heavy metals could be incorporated
into food webs through uptake by vegetation. It is also possible that significant quantities of heavy
metals could be introduced into the local surface waters and/or leached from the soil into groundwater supplies. These conditions could provide an effective mechanism for transporting heavy metals
to surrounding nonmilitary areas, thus producing significant adverse environmental impacts that
could affect the local German population. The type, degree, and extent of heavy-metal and explosive-
residue contamination from current and past training exercises need to be determined, and the
probability of off-site transport of heavy-metal contaminants must be evaluated.
This investigation was performed to provide the U.S. Army with documentation of the type,
degree, and extent of heavy-metal and explosive-residue contamination on three types of training
ranges and their environs at the Grafenwohr Training Area in Germany. Current and past training
exercises requiring the use of small arms and other munitions have resulted in the deposition of some
heavy metals onto the soils of training ranges. Potential contamination of the local environment by
the introduction of heavy metals into the local surface waters or groundwater supplies was assessed.
This particular portion of the study first addressed whether the heavy metals associated with the
various firing ranges leach appreciably into the groundwater system. Second, this study determined
the effectiveness of chelant extraction for remediation of the heavy-metal-laden soils.
BACKGROUND
Site Description
Three firing ranges (a handgun range, a rifle range, and a hand grenade range) were studied at the
Grafenwohr Firing Range.
The handgun range is used for handgun practice, mainly by military police units; the range has 10
firing points, with a 7-m-high (23-ft-high) earthen berm about 55 m (180 ft) from the firing line. There
are nine pop-up targets for each firing point; the first eight targets are at distances ranging from 10 m
(32.8 ft) to 30 m (99 ft), and the ninth is at 50 m (165 ft) from the firing line. A ditch runs parallel with
the berm between the eighth and ninth targets and is designed to remove runoff water from the berm
and range. The area around the targets is covered with grass that is mowed short, and the ditch and
berm are covered with a mixture of grasses and low shrubs. There are a number of spent slugs on the
soil surface and on the berm. A tower behind the firing line is used for observation and safety control
during firing exercises. The area on both sides behind the range is forest. The area directly behind the
berm has tall grass and shrub cover and is part of the impact area.
48th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, 1993 Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, Michigan 48118. Printed in
U.S.A.
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