Development of Area-Weighted Exposure Point Concentrations for Lead at Small Arms Firing Ranges in a Post-Remediation Risk Assessment. G. M. DiMundo, B. R. DeShields, and M. Pattanayek, Harding ESE, Inc.
Studies have indicated that concentrations of lead in surface soils at small arms firing ranges are directly correlated with the proportion of spent ammunition covering the soil surface. When estimating exposure to lead in soil at firing ranges, typical methods are not appropriate because spent ammunition is concentrated in small areas and the majority of firing ranges have little or no bullet cover. Exposure is not expected to be limited to one of these areas. This study used an area-weighted approach to account for the distribution of spent ammunition across the exposure area. At sixteen firing ranges, the following four bullet cover zones were visually defined based on the percentage of spent ammunition covering the soil surface: heavy (10 percent [%] or greater), moderate (1 to 10%), light (less than 1%) and no ammunition cover. Areas with high bullet cover were remediated and confirmation soil samples were collected. For each firing range and bullet cover zone, the distribution of lead was determined and appropriate statistics were calculated. Area-weighted exposure point concentrations (EPCs) for lead at each firing range were then developed using lead concentrations in soil and the surface area of each bullet cover zone within the firing range. Post-remediation risks to human and ecological receptors were estimated using the area-weighted EPCs.
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