A former gun club used for skeet shooting and small arms firing is located on park property at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The soil was contaminated with lead at concentrations above Florida standards for the protection of human health and the environment. NASA’s remediation goal was to excavate lead-contaminated soil from areas easily accessible to park visitors and sensitive ecological receptors. Portions of the soil, when excavated, would be classified as hazardous waste.

Tetra Tech conducted bench- and pilot-scale treatability studies to determine the viability of using stabilization reagents to treat the hazardous soil to render it non-hazardous, allowing for land disposal at greatly reduced cost. The treatability studies demonstrated that lead-contaminated soil at the site could be treated to render it non-hazardous using a phosphate-based process. Based on these results, NASA awarded Tetra Tech a contract to treat and dispose of approximately 20,000 cubic yards of lead-contaminated soil using this technology. When the entire range remediation project is completed, the Tetra Tech methodology will save NASA approximately $4,500,000 in waste disposal costs.

Highlights:

• Project identified as a success by NASA Kennedy Space Center management
• Contract modification provided to Tetra Tech to conduct additional work based on performance of initial contract
• Total cost savings of approximately $4,500,000