Technical Report
Toxicity of TNT Wastewaters to Aquatic Organisms. Volume 1. Acute Toxicity of LAP Wastewater and 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene
Liu, D; Spanggord, R; Bailey, H; Javitz, H; Jones, D
SRI International Menlo Park CA
ADA142144. LSU-4262-VOL-1. DAMD17-75-C-5056
The acute toxicity to aquatic organisms of Composition B (COMP B) type LAP wastewater was determined. The tests were performed primarily on a 1.6- to 1 mixture of TNT and RDX, which are the major organic components of the wastewater and which are normally present in a 1.6:1 ratio in untreated wastewater. Acute toxicity tests were also performed on TNT and RDX, and on 2,4, 6-trinitrobenzaldehyde, 2,4,6-trinitrobenzonitrile, 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, and 4,6-dinitroanthranil, which are phototransformation products of TNT and RDX. All of these tests were conducted to obtain an initial assessment of the potential hazard of LAP wastewater to aquatic life. Exposure of LAP wastewater, TNT, and the TNT-RDX misture to filtered UV light (simulated sunlight) reduced their toxicity by a factor of up to 25. The toxicity of these materials decreased as the photolytic degradation of TNT increased. The phototransformation products of TNT were generally more toxic than TNT; however, there is evidence that when TNT photolyzes, the concentrations of the photoproducts do not reach lethal levels.
toxicity, rdx, tnt, ultraviolet radiation, degradation, waste water, photolysis, mixtures, aquatic organisms, ph factor, composition b, pe62720a, wu045, as835