ANALYSIS OF 2,4,6-TRINITROTOLUENE AND ITS TRANSFORMATION PRODUCTS IN SOILS AND PLANT-TISSUES BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

Previous studies have failed to provide an acceptable mass balance for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in soils and plants due to deficiencies in analytical methodology. A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for soil analysis is reported which allowed for a mass balance in excess of 88% during a 2-month study. A method for plant analysis was developed which involved fractionation of organic extracts on Florisil adsorbent, to remove interfering pigments, followed by HPLC analysis of TNT and the primary metabolites, 2-amino-4,6-dinitrololuene and 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene. Chromatographic recovery of TNT from spiked tissues was 85 ± 6%. The methodology was utilized to investigate TNT uptake and metabolism in plants grown in TNT hydroponic solutions. © 1990.