Attention to munitions constituents such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in the firing ranges is increasing due to their toxicity and high mobility to the environment. It is helpful to use a systemic model to predict the amount of contaminants for the establishment of environmental management of firing ranges. This study employed Training Range Environmental Evaluation and Characterization System (TREECS) program to estimate the mobility characteristics of TNT and RDX via groundwater leaching, soil erosion and surface water runoff. The prediction results of the TNT and RDX migration with TREECS showed that 68% of initial TNT and 21% of initial RDX were discharged through the soil erosion and the 20% of initial TNT and 54% of initial RDX ran out the firing range via the groundwater leaching. The rest of the initial TNT and RDX moved to adjacent surface water via surface runoff. The data suggest that soil erosion and surface runoff occupying 80% of TNT to the total amount are important migration pathways. On the other hand, groundwater leachning occupying 54% to the total amount was also important pathway for RDX.

Keywords: Firing range;TNT;RDX;TREECS;