Laboratory investigation for on site chemical oxidation of surface soil
contaminated with energetic materials in demolition ranges
Marie-Claude Lapointe, Richard Martel
Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Eau, Terre et Environnement, Quebec City, Qc, Canada
Marie-claude.lapointe@ete.inrs.ca
Emmanuela Diaz
Defence Research and Development Canada Valcartier, Quebec city, Qc, Canada
KEY WORDS
- RDX, chemical oxidation, surface soil, demolition range
ABSTRACT
In order to reduce the potential long-term impact of energetic materials (EM) released into the environment due
to military training activities, best management practices and remediation technologies are under development.
Demolition ranges have been selected for a technology demonstration because of their limited surface area, associated
surface soil and water contamination. In this regard, they are easier to secure than large impact areas and the military
activities conducted on such sites make them more suitable for field instrumentation in order to follow the behavior of the
technology developed. High levels of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) are
found on surface soils, discharged from unconfined blocks of C4 used for demolition activities such as wood, steel or
concrete cutting. Other explosives such as nitroglycerine (NG), octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX)
and 2,4-dinitrotoluene may also be present in the soil and water, originating from blow-in-place operations of other
explosive ordinance. The heterogeneous size of particles of EM residues found in soil of demolition ranges and the
possibility of having them buried are a challenge that the remediation technology must overcome. The use of liquid
chemical oxidant on surface soil is under development because it is readily deployed, does not need soil excavation, is
safe and easy to implement, therefore reducing the disturbance to military activities.
This paper shows results from laboratory experiments of chemical oxidation of RDX and NG in soils. Different
oxidants and activators have been tested on soils coming from five demolition ranges located across Canada. Different
surfactants have also been in contact with EM in order to evaluate if they can increase their aqueous solubility and
change their wettability before being in contact with the oxidant solution. Laboratory results show the potential use of this
technology to degrade EM from contaminated surface soils.