Antimony migration trends from a small arms firing range compared to lead, copper, and zinc Original Research Article

Small arms firing ranges (SAFRs) contain a mixed amount of bullets and bullet fragments accumulated throughout their designed lifetime. Lead-antimony (Pb-Sb) alloy copper (Cu) jacketed bullets are a common modern ammunition used at SAFRs. The impact of bullets with berm material (i.e., soil) generates a heterogeneous distribution of bullets and bullet fragments in the surrounding soil. As bullets and bullet fragments corrode in the berm soil, the migration potential for antimony compared to other metals is quite high. The goal of this study was to evaluate the spatial Sb migration potential from an SAFR as compared to lead, copper, and zinc (Zn) migration from the same SAFR. Berm soil samples were collected along with surface and ground water samples for a preliminary investigation of the Sb migration from an active SAFR. In addition, different aqueous sample preservation techniques were used and evaluated. Soil sample analysis results show the presence of the metals (i.e., Pb, Sb, Cu, and Zn) in the range floor soil samples, indicating the migration of these metals from the berm to the range floor. The groundwater samples indicate that Sb was migrating from the SAFR more readily than the other metals based on the concentration of Sb in the monitoring well farthest from the SAFR berm.