Backgrounder

Army Range and Training Area Contamination: Understanding the Past and Protecting the Future

Questions and Answers

Summary

Various military activities on ranges and training areas have contributed to environmental contamination over the lifespan of these installations, in some cases going as far back as WWI. With historically lax regulations and restricted public access to Ranges and Training Areas (RTAs), the effects of this contamination have been largely ignored by the public and until recently were generally unknown to military operators. With ever strengthening modern regulations, public encroachment around the RTAs and concerns about possible contamination migrating off-base, it is imperative that the Army understand and manage the risks associated with RTA contamination in order to ensure the long term viability of these strategic assets. To that end, the Army Environmental Programme has completed the first phase of characterizing the environmental effects on six major Army installations. The results of this work lend themselves to a robust, scientific approach to managing the risks and mitigating the effects.

Background

In 2000, the Army’s Director of Land Environment (DLE) mandated Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) – Valcartier to undertake a research program, in collaboration with the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), to study ammunition residues in soil and groundwater within military training ranges. The resulting report summarizes the findings of 10 years of Range and Training Areas (RTA) characterization on six Army bases. Results are presented by type of range and provide key information to assist in range management decisions. This report also provides an overview of the source of key contaminants of concern (COC) found on military ranges, their effects on human health and the guidelines under which they are regulated.

Results

Generally, ammunition residues are not found at levels of concern at most Canadian RTAs. Grenade and battle run ranges show relatively little concentration of ammunitions residues. Unexploded ordnance (UXO) are responsible for the majority of environmental affects identified at Canadian training ranges; blow-in-place procedures, cracked open UXO and incomplete detonations all release energetic materials into the environment. Propellant residues expelled at firing positions are another key source of soil and water contamination on the characterized ranges. On small arms ranges, levels of heavy metals exceeding guidelines, such as lead, antimony and copper, were found in soils sampled both at firing positions and within the berms.

Initiatives Underway

Propellant Burning Tables

A number of concrete initiatives have already been put in place to mange the effects of RTA contamination. In 2011, the Army launched a country-wide deployment of state-of-the-art propellant burning tables for firing ranges. In the past, unused propellant from firing positions was burned on the ground at the firing positions, in accordance with standard operating procedures and to avoid the unnecessary transportation of dangerous material. With the assistance of Defence R&D Canada, the Army has produced environmentally friendly tables for the burning of unused propellant above the ground, thereby preventing harmful chemicals from leeching into the groundwater.

Small Arms Range Design

New and innovative designs for small arms ranges are being developed and tested at several Army bases. Engineering designs have for some time successfully captured rounds in butt stops but lead released from these captured rounds has the tendency to leech into the soil and has the potential to reach the groundwater. Simple, effective and inexpensive new approaches include understanding rain water run-off characteristics, capturing and diverting lead affected water and using different materials to facilitate bullet removal from the stop butts before leeching can occur.

Shaped Charges for UXO Destruction

In the past, blow-in-place procedures for UXOs using C4 explosive have been shown to disperse explosives in the environment, especially RDX that is expelled from unconfined C4 blocks. The Army is currently studying the use of existing and modified commercial shaped charges with a view to increasing the temperature and pressure of the detonation sufficiently to completely destroy the explosive residues.

Future Activities

Long-term solutions to address the main environmental issues found on RTAs are currently being developed. Innovative remediation techniques, new range designs, greener military training practices, groundwater modeling tools and modified greener weapons are being developed in an effort to reduce the long-term impact of releases into the environment. This ongoing work will evolve with the future characterization findings and the introduction of new mitigation measures.