[CPEO-MEF] Sampling at an Air Force Bombing Range - new CRREL report

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Sampling Studies at an Air Force Live-Fire Bombing Range Impact Area

Thomas F. Jenkins, Alan D. Hewitt, Charles A. Ramsey,
Kevin L. Bjella, Susan R. Bigl, and Dennis J. Lambert
Engineer Research and Development Center
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
ERDC/CRREL TR-06-2
February 2006

ABSTRACT

Field sampling experiments were conducted at an Air Force live-fire 
bombing range. The main objective was to assess the effectiveness of 
using a systematic-random, multi-increment sampling strategy for the 
collection of representative surface soil samples in areas where bombing 
practice is conducted with bombs containing high explosives. Replicate 
surface soil samples were collected within several craters and in 
different sized grids (1 m X 1 m, 10 m X 10 m, and 100 m X 100 m). One 
area sampled had been impacted by a low-order 2000-lb bomb detonation 
and several hundred small chunks of tritonal were present on the 
surface. Another area sampled had many fewer recognizable chunks of 
tritonal on the surface. An arroyo, located downslope of the heaviest 
impacted area of this live-fire range, where runoff from the area would 
be captured, was also sampled at several locations. TNT was the major 
energetic compound present within the live-fire bombing area. 
Short-range heterogeneity in TNT concentrations was very large and the 
ability to estimate mean concentration using discrete samples, even for 
an area as small as 1 m^2, was poor. Much more reproducible estimates of 
mean concentrations for areas as large as 100 m X 100 m were achieved 
using multi-increment samples collected with a stratified 
systematic-random sampling design compared with that achieved using 
discrete samples. Results from soil profile samples and samples from the 
arroyo draining this area indicate that the energetic compounds present 
at the bombing range are not migrating from the site. Another area 
sampled was a small demolition range where C4 explosive is used to 
ensure that practice bombs contain no residual explosive prior to 
removing scrap metal from the range. RDX and HMX were the energetic 
compounds detected at the highest concentration in surface soil at the 
demolition range. These compounds originated from the demolition 
explosive.

To download the entire report as a 464 K PDF file, go to
http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/techpub/CRREL_Reports/reports/TR06-2.pdf

--


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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