APPENDIX A: GUIDE FOR PRELIMINARY TESTING OF MUNITIONS-
CONTAMINATED SITES--PREPARATION FOR SAMPLING PLAN
Introduction
No single approach to site characterization will be appropriate for all places con-
taminated by munitions. This guide for preliminary testing is intended for sites
where widely dispersed contamination is thought or known to be present. In con-
trast, a modified approach would probably be appropriate for a site having highly
localized "hot spots," although a recent report suggests that both objectives can
sometimes be attained with a single plan (Gore and Patil 1994). It is quite likely that
some elements of this proposed guide will be unsuitable at some sites, while other
sites may require elements not included here. For this reason, an experienced team
should conduct these tests and interpret the results, and consider any other perti-
nent input, such as budget information. Recommendations for a full-scale sam-
pling plan will follow. A "cookbook" approach to this problem will never be
adequate. However, a plan recommendation must be practical and within the scope
of what can be expected of commercial samplers.
The bulk of explosives contamination generally resides in near-surface soils, the
most commonly encountered explosives being solids at environmental tempera-
tures. They were most often released as particulates, which tends to exacerbate the
sampling problem owing to heterogeneity of distribution. These particles have low
solubility and, from a kinetics point of view, dissolve very slowly in aqueous solu-
tion. Of course, some dissolution does occur and, at manufacturing sites, a portion
of the contaminants enters the soil in aqueous solution. In any case, there is abun-
dant evidence that high concentrations of these compounds and their biodegrada-
tion products can persist in near-surface soils for decades (Steinberg et al. 1987,
Grant et al. 1995). Although this document emphasizes shallow contamination, it is
clear that in some cases contamination can be found at considerable depth.
The purpose of this protocol is to efficiently and economically obtain results
essential for developing an optimal, full-scale sampling plan. Our recent studies
have demonstrated the efficacy of homogenizing samples and making composites
on site, followed by rapid on-site analysis (Jenkins et al. 1997b). This approach
offers the major advantages of samples being representative and results being timely,
thereby lending itself to iterative followup during the same sampling event. These
guidelines assume the use of this technology in both the preliminary and full-scale
studies.
Preliminary study plan
1. Dividing a site into potential remediation units
Sufficient historical information on the contaminants present must be known.
Otherwise, a few laboratory analyses will be required before proceeding. Many
installations have several potentially contaminated sites, such as a disposal lagoon,
a burning ground, an impact area, or a load line. Each of these sites can be subdi-
vided into potential remediation units that are more internally homogeneous than
the site as a whole. Typical reasons for subdividing a site into units are:
Differing exposure histories with respect to time, munitions composition,
method of contamination, and level of contamination.
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