Soil Remediation

Pistol Range
Baton Rouge, LA

SEMS was contracted to provide remediation services at a Pistol Range.  The facility had been in operation for more than 30 years, during which time approximately 11 million rounds of ammunition were discharged.  The lead from the spent rounds was contained in an earthen berm.  Lead contamination, in the soil, had greatly exceeded hazardous levels and removal was required.

SEMS developed a process to break the dirt and lead into smaller pieces using a large hammer.  The dirt and lead were separated.  The dirt was conveyed under water to create a hopper where 7% cement by weight was mixed with material. This process allowed the dirt to be classified at non-hazardous.

The entire operation was controlled with feed hoppers and belt conveyors to minimize spillage and to limit personnel to potentially harmful dust.  Personal and perimeter air monitoring ensured worker safety and provided qualitative results to demonstrate that no offsite migration of lead dust occurred during the operation.

Work performed:

• Excavation of the berm to remove lead bearing areas
• Removal and transport of more than 100 tons of bullets from soil for recycling using a roller mill and trommel screen
• Excavation and processing of 750 cubic yards of in place soil using a pug mill with a cement silo
• Disposal of 1100 tons of soil in a non-hazardous landfill after the stabilization process reduced the levels of leachable lead
• Air monitoring