Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

An evaluation of the environmental fate and behavior of munitions materiel (Tetryl and polar metabolites of TNT) in soil and plant systems. Environmental fate and behavior of tetryl

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10180907· OSTI ID:10180907

The objective of the present studies was to elucidate the environmental behavior and fate of 2,4,6trintrophenylmethylnitramine (tetryl) in the soil/plant system in three different types of soils incubated for 60 days. No tetryl was detectable after 11 days; most of the radiolabel was associated with non-extractable soil components and four transformation products appeared rapidly, of which two were identified as N-methyl-2,4,6-trintroaniline and N-methyl-aminodinitroaniline isomer. Short-term hydroponic studies indicated no significant difference in uptake rates for the three plant species employed. Kinetic studies indicated that plants have a high affinity and capacity for absorbing tetryl. Partitioning patterns indicated that the root is the major accumulation site for tetryl. Chemical fractionation and analyses of tissues showed rapid metabolism of tetryl in tissues of all species, which proceeded toward more polar metabolic products. Plant maturity studies indicated significant differences in the total relative uptake of tetryl by all three plant species based on soil type.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Department of Defense, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC06-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
10180907
Report Number(s):
PNL--8794; TD--2695; ON: DE93041156
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English