Heavy Metal Soil Contamination at U.S. Army Installations: Proposed Research and Strategy for Technology Development

Abstract

This document represents a research strategy to develop new and innovative technologies for treatment of heavy metal-contaminated soils on U.S. Army installations. For a technology to be considered, it must be effective, economically feasible, and available for implementation within 5 years. The activities undertaken to develop the research strategy are also described in this report. A survey of U.S. Army installations shows that soils contaminated by heavy metals are a common problem. Over 50 percent of the installations surveyed have potential heavy metal problems that may prove to be costly and/ or beyond current technology to remediate. Of the six analytes found most often as contaminants in a U.S. Army Environmental Center (USAEC) database, five are classified as heavy metals. Chrome, lead, and cadmium are the most common metal contaminants. Further, the variety of contaminated media (e.g., water, soils, and structure) at military installations makes it likely that a variety of cleanup technologies will be required. The scientific basis of the interaction of heavy metals with different soils is briefly discussed in this report to provide an understanding of the efficacy of potential soil remediation techniques. Consideration is given to a 1987 review of soil remediation technologies produced by Roy F. Weston, Inc., for USAEC; to the results of the deliberations of an advisory panel empaneled specifically to address. Metal/soil cleanup technologies, and to site visits and inquiries by personnel of the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES) Environmental Laboratory. Army contamination Military cleanup, Soil contamination, Installation restoration, Research strategy, Treatment technologies, Metal contamination, Site remediation.