A Release of Perchlorate from Blasting Compounds
Elissa Brown, AECOM, Concord, MA

Development of Pilot Electrochemical Treatment Systems to Destroy RDX in a Process Wastewater
David B. Gent, US Army Engineer Research & Development Center, Vicksburg, MS
Jared L Johnson, US Army Engineer Research & Development Center, Vicksburg, MS
Greg O’Connor, U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Picatinny, NJ
Deborah R. Felt, US Army Engineer Research & Development Center, Vicksburg, MS
Steven L. Larson, US Army Engineer Research & Development Center, Vicksburg, MS
Bob Winstead, Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Kingsport, TN

Episodic Discharge of Lead, Copper and Antimony from a Norwegian Small Arm Shooting Range
Espen Mariussen, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Kjeller, Norway
Marita Ljønes, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Kjeller, Norway
Loella Bakka, Norwegian Pollution Control Authority, Oslo, Norway
Arnljot E. Strømseng, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Kjeller, Norway

Evaluation of Treatment Approaches to Reduce Ejecta from Projectile Impact on Sand Catchboxes
Victor F. Medina, U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center, Vicksburg, MS
Scott Waisner, U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center, Vicksburg, MS
Joe Tom, U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center, Vicksburg, MS
Dick Read, U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center, Vicksburg, MS

A Novel Approach for the Remediation of Mixed Lead and Tungsten Contaminated Fire Range Soil
Juan N. Bentancur, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ
Mahmoud Wazne, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ
Deok Hyun Moon, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ
Washington Braida Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ
Christos Christodoulatos, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ
Gregory O’Connor, US Army, Picatinny, NJ

A Release of Perchlorate from Blasting Compounds

Elissa Brown, AECOM, 300 Baker Avenue, Suite 290, Concord, MA 01742, Tel: 978- 371-4246, Fax: 978-371-2468, Email:  Elissa.brown@aecom.com

Perchlorate has been found to be present in groundwater at low levels nationwide, most commonly associated with military ordnance and related activities.  Interestingly, significantly high concentrations of perchlorate were detected in Massachusetts, far from a military base.  In early 2004, the MassDEP began requiring public water supplies to test for perchlorate.  As a result of this study, perchlorate concentrations in exceedence of 2 micrograms per liter (µg/l) were identified in nine public supply wells in the Commonwealth, including a residential condominium complex in Boxborough. 

In April 2004, 5 µg/l of perchlorate was detected in one of the five “community” drinking water supply wells at the condominium complex.   Perchlorate levels in the other four drinking water wells were reported as not detected (ND).  In September 2004, however, perchlorate concentrations of 791 µg/l were detected in another on-site drinking water well.  Within two weeks, concentrations had increased to 1,080 µg/l.  Concentrations peaked at 1,300 µg/l in November 2004, then declined to less than 28 µg/l by November 2005, and 5 µg/l by November 2007.  By March 2008, perchlorate concentrations in the wells were ND.

The presence of perchlorate was determined to have resulted from a one-time blasting event conducted in November 2003 for the construction of a new, on-site wastewater treatment plant.  Material Safety Data Sheets indicated that ammonium perchlorate at 20% to 30% by weight was an ingredient in the blasting compound used at the site.

This one-time release of perchlorate is believed to have resulted in a sharp increase in perchlorate in groundwater at the nearby bedrock well, followed by a steady decrease to background conditions within five years of its introduction.  This profile may be indicative of perchlorate related to a single release of contaminant, as opposed to a continuous source of perchlorate under a long term history of use.

Development of Pilot Electrochemical Treatment Systems to Destroy RDX in a Process Wastewater

David B. Gent, US Army Engineer Research & Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, USA, Tel: 601 634 4822, Fax: 601 634 3518, Email: David.B.Gent@usace.army.mil
Jared L Johnson, US Army Engineer Research & Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, USA, Tel: 601 634 3050, Fax: 601 634 3518,

Email: Jared.L.Johnson@usace.amry.mil
Greg O’Connor, U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Building 355, Picatinny, NJ 07806-5000, Tel: 973-724-5008, Fax: 601 634 3518, Email: gregory.j.oconnor@us.army.mil
Deborah R. Felt, US Army Engineer Research & Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, USA, Tel: 601 634 3576, Fax: 601 634 3518, Email: Deborah.Felt@usace.army.mil
Steven L. Larson, US Army Engineer Research & Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, USA, Tel: 601 634 3431, Fax: 601 634 3518,

Email: Steven L Larson@usace.army.mil
Bob Winstead, BAE Ordnance Systems Inc., Holston Army Ammunition Plant, 4509 West Stone Drive, Kingsport, TN 37660, Tel: 423 578 6253, Fax 423 578 6132, Email: bobwinstead@baesystems.com

Several existing technologies may be used for the destruction of munitions constituents in wastewater, including alkaline hydrolysis, anaerobic microbial degradation, and zero valent iron.  This study developed pilot electrochemical reactor to decompose RDX in water with no chemical addition.  Electrochemical decomposition of RDX is an efficient surface reaction that occurs at the cathode of an electrochemical cell.  Half-lives for RDX decomposition (from 10,000 µg/L to < 20 µg/L) on dimensionally stable electrodes in mixed compartment systems were on the order of 15 minutes.  The first order rate of reaction approached a maximum value 0.05 min-1 as current density was increased indicating mass transfer control of the reaction.  Batch reaction rate information was used to design pilot-scale reaction systems in both batch and continuous modes based on the observed mass transfer based kinetic rate, km.  A unique batch electrochemical reactor incorporated electrode plates as impellers to improve the mass transfer characteristics of the reaction.  This reactor achieved a mass transfer based reaction rate similar to those observed in small batch reactions and exhibited a treatment half life of 33 minutes.  The batch reactor is capable of treating 100 gallons per day (gpd) of saturated RDX wastewater to less than 2 µg/L.  A continuous flow parallel plate electrochemical reactor was also built using a rectangular channel upflow design.  This design allowed for a large electrode surface area per unit volume of reactor, and the treatment half live based on reactor residence time was 4 minutes.  The flow reactor achieves 97% destruction of RDX at a flow rate of 134 gpd.  A version of the flow reactor is currently being designed for a 40,000 gpd demonstration project.  Electrochemical reactors provide a technology capable of rapidly treating high concentrations of RDX in wastewater with no chemical addition and no startup lag time.

Episodic Discharge of Lead, Copper and Antimony from a Norwegian Small Arm Shooting Range

Espen Mariussen, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Instituttvn 20, N-2027 Kjeller, Norway, Tel: +47 63807891, Fax: +47 63807115, Email: espen.mariussen@ffi.no
Marita Ljønes, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Instituttvn 20, N-2027 Kjeller, Norway, Tel: +47 63807868, Fax: +47 63807115, Email: marita.ljones@ffi.no
Loella Bakka, Norwegian Pollution Control Authority, P.O Box 8100 Dep, N-0032 Oslo, Norway, Tel: +47 22 57 34 00, Fax: +47 22 67 67 06, Email: loella.bakka@sft.no
Arnljot E. Strømseng, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Instituttvn 20, N-2027 Kjeller, Norway, Tel: +47 63807868, Fax: + 47 63807115, Email: arnljot.stromseng@ffi.no

Considerably amounts of lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and antimony (Sb) have been deposited on small arm shooting ranges from use of ammunition. There is estimated that annual deposit of lead (Pb) from site specific shooting ranges can vary between less than 100 kg to 15000 kg depending on the shooting activity. As the bullets corrode, the elements can leach into the soil and into watercourses and pose a threat to aquatic organisms. Discharge of the elements from a shooting range is dependent on several factors such as soil properties, hydrological conditions, precipitation and time. Here we have monitored the levels of Pb, Cu and Sb in a small drainage stream from a Norwegian military small arm shooting range in 2001 and 2006. The first campaign in 2001 was initiated ahead of the snow-melting period in the spring and continued two months in order to quantify discharge and discharge patterns of the selected elements as a function of water flow and precipitation. Two shorter campaigns were performed in autumn 2001 during an excavation and in summer 2006. Mean levels of Pb, Cu and Sb in the stream during the first monitoring period in 2001 were 14, 48 and 9 μg/L respectively. These concentrations are regarded as harmful for aquatic organisms. High flow, following precipitation, lead to an approximately fourfold increase in the concentration of Pb and threefold increase in the level of Cu and Sb compared to low discharge concentrations. This is a similar phenomenon as urban stormwater runoff and road runoff. An estimation of discharge of the metals showed that the snow melting period and precipitation events constituted for a large proportion of the total release. A sudden increase in the levels can induce more stress and reduce survival of exposed aquatic animals due to the short time available for adaptation.

Evaluation of Treatment Approaches to Reduce Ejecta from Projectile Impact on Sand Catchboxes

Victor F. Medina, U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180, Tel: 601 634 4283, Fax: 601 634 3518, Email: victor.f.medina@usace.army.mil
Scott Waisner, U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180, Tel: 601 634 2286, Fax: 601 634 3518, Email: scott.a.waisner@usace.army.mil
Joe Tom, U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180, Tel: 601 634 3278, Fax: 601 634 3518, Email: joe.g.tom@usace.army.mil
Dick Read, ACE-IT, U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180, Tel: 601 634 2562, Email: richard.e.read@usace.army.mil

Sampling around a sand filled catchbox for testing of depleted uranium penetrators indicates that deposition of uranium outside the box is occurring.  The Army Engineer Research and Development Center is conducting studies investigating inexpensive means to reduce or eliminate these losses.  A scale model (scaled based on kinetic energy versus projectile cross sectional area) of a DU catchbox was constructed.  A fifty caliber high velocity rifle was used to fire into the simulated box.  Data was analyzed by collection of sand on a gridded catch tarp and by analysis of video and photographs of the shots.  Testing has been conducted to date on dry sand, wet sand, and misting during firing.  The wet sand studies suggest that the application of some water can substantially decrease sand ejecta, but too much water can actually result in higher amounts of sand ejecta.  Further studies are planned for determining optimum water addition and for the use of inexpensive dust palliative additives.  Studies will also be conducted on simulated wind erosion.

A Novel Approach for the Remediation of Mixed Lead and Tungsten Contaminated Fire Range Soil

Juan N. Bentancur, Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, NJ 07030, Tel: 201-216-8993, Fax: 201-216-8303
Mahmoud Wazne PhD, Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, NJ 07030, Tel: 201-216-8993, Fax: 201-216-8212, Email: mwazne@stevens.edu
Deok Hyun Moon PhD, Department of Environmental Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju, South Korea
Washington Braida PhD, Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, NJ 07030, Tel: 201-216-5681, Fax: 201-216-8303, Email: washington.braida@stevens.edu
Christos Christodoulatos PhD, Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, NJ 07030, Tel: 201-216-5675, Fax: 201-216-8303, Email: christod@stevens.edu
Gregory O’Connor, US Army, Demilitarization and Environmental Technology Division, Picatinny, NJ 07806, Tel: 973-724-5008, Email: gregory.j.oconnor@us.army.mil

In this study a novel approach was attempted to simultaneously recover tungsten (W) and immobilize lead (Pb) from contaminated firing range soils. The treatment was first conducted by washing the soils using either sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or hydrated lime (Ca(OH)₂) solutions and then subjected to a stabilization/solidification (S/S) process using Class C fly ash (FAC), cement kiln dust (CKD) and Type I/II Portland cement (CEM). Extraction efficiencies greater than 90% and 50% for W and Pb, respectively, were achieved for sandy soils with a NaOH solution. Conversely, low removal rates of 25 % and 60% for Pb and W, respectively, were obtained with the Ca(OH)₂ solution. Upon subsequent treatment by 15 wt% PC, the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) Pb concentration was significantly reduced from 23.75 mg/L to 0.55 mg/L, after a curing period of 7 days. Moreover, the soluble W concentration was also drastically reduced from 64.9 mg/L to 1 mg/L using de-ionized water, after 7 days of curing. The treatment was not effective in reducing W leachability upon sole addition of PC. 

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