Passive Reactive Berm to Provide Low Maintenance Lead Containment at Small Arms Firing Ranges

Lead and copper are deposited into the soil of small arms firing range berms. Treatability studies using a "live fire lysimeter" were conducted that focused on determining the appropriate sand to amendment ratio required to produce and maintain a greater than 90% reduction in soluble lead compared to untreated berm material. The soil amendments tested included Apatite II^TM, TRAPPS^TM, Sulfitech^TM, and Buffer Blocks^TM. The addition of the amendments reduced the average concentration of lead leaving the cells. The TRAPPS^TM and Apatite II^TM amendments produced the best results for stabilization of soluble lead within the impact berm and were selected for use in the field study at the small arms firing range berms located at Charleston Air Force Base (CAFB), North South Carolina. Currently, no soluble lead was detected in the neither control nor amended lysimeters and pH is acidic for the control and Trapps amended cells.