How will ordnance remaining in the ground affect lead levels?
A11. None of the filler materials in the ordnance used at Five Points OLF contained lead. The body of one version of the MK 23 miniature practice bomb was made of lead, but such a large piece of lead is unable to leach significant quantities of metal into the ground. The leaching ability of a metal is directly proportional to its surface area (i.e., the larger the surface area, the more leaching.) Because surface area is indirectly proportional to particle size (i.e., the smaller the particle size for a given weight of metal, the more surface area), a large “particle” of lead, such as a practice bomb body, has virtually no leaching ability.
