Abstract
The mobility and bioavailability of lead (Pb) in seven military shooting range soils found in eastern and north eastern Botswana were studied using sequential extraction procedure. The different forms of Pb and their reactivity in the soil help explain their speciation, mobility and bioavailability in the environment. Mobility of Pb in the berm soils in all the seven shooting ranges was found to be over 90% implying high Pb lability. The bioavailability index of Pb was in the range 60–90%, an indication that most of the Pb can be available for plant uptake. Sequential extraction studies indicate that the partitioning of Pb was mostly confined to the carbonate compartment in all the shooting ranges. All the seven shooting ranges failed the Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP) with SPLP Pb concentrations exceeding United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 0.015 mg/kg critical level of hazardous waste, posing a pollution threat to surface and groundwater.
Highlights
Shooting ranges have been found to be the second largest anthropogenic contributor to environmental pollution from lead (Pb) deposition after the battery manufacturing industry [1]
The seven shooting ranges were; Selibe Phikwe pistol range (S/P Pistol), Selibe Phikwe range 1 (S/P R1) and Selibe Phikwe Range 2 (S/P R2) located in Selibe Phikwe, Matsiloje Range 1 (MAT R1) and Matsiloje Range 2 (MAT R2) located near Matsiloje village while Lebolobolo (LEBO) and Tshukudu (TSHU) ranges are both located in the Pandamatenga area
The S/P Pistol, S/P R1 and S/P R2 (GPS Coordinates: 21° 58′ 19.79′′ South, 27° 50′ 14.39′′ East, 21° 57′ 58.55′′ South, 27° 52′ 32.97′′ East and 21° 57′ 44.80′′ South, 27° 52′ 35.44′′ East respectively) sampling areas are situated near the town of Selibe Phikwe, The MAT R1 and MAT R2 with GPS coordinates: 21° 22′ 12.00′′South, 27° 52′ 12.00′′ East and 21° 22′ 12.25′′South, 27° 55′ 6.73′′ East respectively are found in the Matsiloje area
Summary
Shooting ranges have been found to be the second largest anthropogenic contributor to environmental pollution from lead (Pb) deposition after the battery manufacturing industry [1]. Current uses of lead include cable sheathing, pigments, chemicals, storage batteries, petrol, alloys and ammunition worldwide [3,4] All these Pb producing industries and activities such as Pb smelting plants, battery manufacturing plants, firing ranges and construction sites lead to exposure of humans and the environment at large to high amounts of Pb. In an attempt to reduce these detrimental effects of lead, some of its uses in gasoline, paint, solder and many other lead-containing products have been banned [5]. It was assumed this greatly increased the mobility of Pb due to rain runoff water travelling down the hill Another important point to note is that the target line total Pb concentration at S/P R1 (2741 ± 1291 mg/kg) was higher than the berm concentration, an indication that most of Pb on the berm soils had migrated down to the foot of the berm. It should be noted that the total Pb concentrations at the 50 and 100 m firing lines are still higher than the USEPA maximum contaminant limit (MCL) of
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
