Lead Reclamation – Firing Range Berms

Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office
Belle Chase, LA

SEMS performed lead reclamation of the three firing range berms associated with the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office Firing Range.  Lead reclamation activities included clearing and grubbing of vegetation on each berm, stripping three feet of soil from the face of each berm, loading the stripped soil into the soil screening unit, containerizing the lead for offsite recycling, and replacing the separated soil onto the berm of origin.

SEMS worked closely with a  design engineer to verify lead removal success and surveyed locations for berms and piling’ supported backstop.

The soil screening unit implements several methods of screening processes to separate lead from the soil.  A large bar screen prevents large foreign material and oversized soil clumps from entering the hopper.  Oversized soil clumps can be pushed through the bar screen or resized prior to dumping.  The material loaded into the hopper passes through various separation methods prior to discharge. The soil screening unit discharges material via three separate conveyor belts.  One discharges soil fines, another larger clumps of soil, and the third conveyor discharges lead and like-size particles.  The like-size particles are blown away from the falling lead via a discharge of compressed air. Lead falls from the conveyor into 55-gallon drums.

SEMS successfully stripped more than 250 linear feet of berm material and separated approximately 40,000 pounds of lead in five days.  The lead was containerized in drums and shipped to the appropriate recycling facility.