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Background Metals Study - US Army YPG
The US Army Yuma Proving Ground is an essential military testing facility located in Yuma County. This facility is tasked with the testing of an array of military munitions. Each munition has the potential to contaminate the surrounding soil, groundwater, and surface water. As a result, stringent environmental permits and requirements must be complied with to ensure that contaminants are not allowed to migrate into the soil or groundwater.
Sampling plans are developed and implemented to confirm that the environmental controls are adequate for the testing operation. Sampling plans require many analyses, including Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs), Explosives, Perchlorate, Nitrate/ Nitrite, Ammonia, and Metals. The analysis of metals creates a unique circumstance in Arizona. There are naturally occurring metals in the State of Arizona that exceed the Soil Remediation Levels (SRLs).
In order to avoid unnecessary remediation expenses, GCE developed a background study to evaluate naturally occurring concentrations of background metals upgradient of the YPG facility. This study allows baseline concentrations to be established for the background metals. The background metals study successfully illustrated that the naturally occurring levels of arsenic upgradient of YPG testing operations exceeded the SRL of 10 mg/kg for arsenic. This Background Study has been used to establish an alternative SRL for arsenic, thus preventing the unnecessary remediation of soil. This Background Study will continue to provide an overall cost savings to YPG operations.
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