PT02 Soil Toxicology and Risk Assessment
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Tuesday, 11 November 2003
(PT017) HPLC Determination of Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) in Soil and Aqueous Matrices.
Anthony, J.1, Haley, M.1, Kolakowski, J.1, Kurnas, C.1, Simini, M1, Kuperman, R.1, Checkai, R.1, 1 U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, APG-EA, MD, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT- Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) is a new energetic material that has been developed as a potential replacement for explosive and propellant formulations. Using a modified USEPA Method 8330, HPLC analysis was used to quantitate CL-20 concentrations in amended natural sandy loam soil and aquatic toxicity test media. Both acetonitrile extractable and water extractable soil samples were analyzed. This method has been used to analyze for other nitramine compounds, but modifications were made to accommodate the differing chemical properties of CL-20. Analytical methodology was done utilizing the Agilent Series 1100 HPLC equipped with an LC-CN column (25 cm x 4.6 mm x 5 um), isocratic 70:30 methanol:water mobile phase, and diode array detection down to 0.05 mg/l. Samples were run in triplicate for statistical interpretation and determination of percent recoveries from the amended test media. Soils were amended with nominal concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 1000 ppm (mg/kg) CL-20 and aquatic test media nominal concentrations ranged from 0 to 100 mg/l CL-20. CL-20 in acetonitrile soil extracts was detected down to 0.5 ppm (mg/l) with greater than 90% recovery for all amendments, while CL-20 in water soluble soil extracts was detected down to 1 ppm (mg/l) but with lower percent recoveries (20-50%) due to low solubility in water of CL-20. Preliminary results of analytical determinations of CL-20 concentrations in both soil and aquatic media confirmed the utility of the modified method and a precision level required for support of ongoing investigations of fate and ecotoxicological effects of CL-20 above 0.5 mg/kg in soil and 1.5 mg/l aquatic media concentrations.
Key words: HPLC, CL-20, soil, environmental