Development of a Simplified Field Method for the Determination of TNT in Soil

Abstract

A simple field method was developed for determining the concentration of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in soil. The method involves extraction of the soil with acetone, generation of the red-colored Jackson-Meisenheimer anion by addition of potassium hydroxide and sodium sulfite, and measurement of color intensity at 540 nm using a battery-operated spectrophotometer. The extraction step recovered a mean of 96% of the TNT recoverable by a more exhaustive laboratory extraction procedure. A comparison was made of concentration estimates from the field method with those from the standard RP-HPLC laboratory procedure using a set of field-contaminated soils. The method was field tested at Umatilla Army Depot and found to provide a simple, rapid method for estimating TNT concentrations in the field. Concentration estimates from field analysis correlated well with laboratory analyses of the same samples.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA230182

Entities

People

  • Thomas F. Jenkins

Organizations

  • Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Calibration
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Cold Regions
  • Detection
  • Engineering
  • Explosives
  • Extraction
  • Hazardous Materials
  • Hydroxides
  • Laboratory Procedures
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Nitrotoluenes
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Regression Analysis
  • Tnt

Readers

  • Agricultural Chemistry/Soil Science
  • Analytical Chemistry