Remediation at Fort Ruger, Diamond Head Crater State monument

Brice Environmental Services designed and implemented a technology demonstration of an innovative hybrid remediation process employing conventional particle separation technology with an innovative dry screening process. The subsequent soil remediation resulted in the removal of particulate lead from the former firing ranges at Fort Ruger, and reduced the volume of lead. Consequently, short and long-term risks to human health and ecological receptors were reduced.

The site, Fort Ruger, is a former Hawaii Army National Guard (HIARNG) facility located at the Diamond Head Crater State Monument on Oahu. The site included a formerly used training area consisting of two small arms firing ranges, and a rifle range and a pistol range contaminated with legacy lead from former training activities. This area was under lease to the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), and was slated for transfer to DLNR for public use. The acreage of the lower range is approximately 1.85 acres and the upper range approximately 3.56 acres.

The Corrective Action Plan determined that particle separation technology using a water based treatment process (soil washing) was the recommended alternative to address the lead contaminated soils. Based on the findings and recommendations of the previous investigations, we proposed a remedial action to reclaim lead-impacted soils in the former small arms firing ranges.

Brice performed excavation, removal, and treatment of 20,486 tons of lead-impacted soil and site restoration to preexisting conditions. The particle separation process was a site-specific configuration that was designed based on the contaminated material characteristics data and the treatability study results. The particle separation process physically removed particulate metal from the soil via a process that did not use any environmentally hazardous materials, or generate a secondary waste stream.