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Title: Determination of N-nitrosodimethylamine at part-per-trillion levels in drinking waters and contaminated groundwaters

Abstract

N-nitrosodimethylamine is a high, carcinogenic manufacturing by-product of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine a component of rocket fuel. Prior disposal practices resulted in the contamination of groundwater near certain military installations with both species. The current regulatory threshold promulgated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for NDMA in surface waters designated for drinking is 0.7 ng NDMA/L (0.7 pptr)L. Existing procedures for determining NDMA in aqueous samples typically employ dichloromethane extraction followed by concentration to a final volume of 1 mL, and gas chromatographic analysis of a 2 {mu}L aliquot of concentrate using either a nitrogen-phosphorus detector (NPD), mass spectrometric detector, or chemiluminescent nitrogen detector (CLND). Such a protocol does not permit detection of NDMA at the desired health-based criterion unless high-resolution mass spectrometric (HRMS) detectors are employed. The analytical procedure described in this work employed an initial solid-phase extraction of groundwater samples with a preconditioned Empore C{sub 18} disk, used to remove interfering neutral species including di-isopropylmethane phosphonate (DIMP), prior to continuous overnight extraction.

Authors:
; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
Department of Defense, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
164458
Report Number(s):
CONF-9505309-1
ON: DE96003024
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Conference: 18. annual conference on analysis of pollutants in the environment, Norfolk, VA (United States), 3-4 May 1995; Other Information: PBD: [1995]
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 40 CHEMISTRY; GROUND WATER; CONTAMINATION; CHEMICAL ANALYSIS; DRINKING WATER; WATER QUALITY; LIQUID FUELS; ROCKETS; MILITARY FACILITIES; AMINES; MASS SPECTROSCOPY; COMPILED DATA

Citation Formats

Tomkins, B.A., Griest, W.H., and Higgins, C.E. Determination of N-nitrosodimethylamine at part-per-trillion levels in drinking waters and contaminated groundwaters. United States: N. p., 1995. Web. doi:10.2172/164458.
Tomkins, B.A., Griest, W.H., & Higgins, C.E. Determination of N-nitrosodimethylamine at part-per-trillion levels in drinking waters and contaminated groundwaters. United States. doi:10.2172/164458.
Tomkins, B.A., Griest, W.H., and Higgins, C.E. Fri . "Determination of N-nitrosodimethylamine at part-per-trillion levels in drinking waters and contaminated groundwaters". United States. doi:10.2172/164458. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/164458.
@article{osti_164458,
title = {Determination of N-nitrosodimethylamine at part-per-trillion levels in drinking waters and contaminated groundwaters},
author = {Tomkins, B.A. and Griest, W.H. and Higgins, C.E.},
abstractNote = {N-nitrosodimethylamine is a high, carcinogenic manufacturing by-product of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine a component of rocket fuel. Prior disposal practices resulted in the contamination of groundwater near certain military installations with both species. The current regulatory threshold promulgated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for NDMA in surface waters designated for drinking is 0.7 ng NDMA/L (0.7 pptr)L. Existing procedures for determining NDMA in aqueous samples typically employ dichloromethane extraction followed by concentration to a final volume of 1 mL, and gas chromatographic analysis of a 2 {mu}L aliquot of concentrate using either a nitrogen-phosphorus detector (NPD), mass spectrometric detector, or chemiluminescent nitrogen detector (CLND). Such a protocol does not permit detection of NDMA at the desired health-based criterion unless high-resolution mass spectrometric (HRMS) detectors are employed. The analytical procedure described in this work employed an initial solid-phase extraction of groundwater samples with a preconditioned Empore C{sub 18} disk, used to remove interfering neutral species including di-isopropylmethane phosphonate (DIMP), prior to continuous overnight extraction.},
doi = {10.2172/164458},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1995},
month = {Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1995}
}

Technical Report:

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  • The carcinogen N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) may be quantitated routinely at ultratrace (ng/L) levels in drinking water or contaminated groundwater. NDMA is selectively detected using a chemiluminescent nitrogen detector (CLND) operated in its nitrosamine-selective mode. The reporting limit for this procedure, evaluated using two independent statistically unbiased protocols, is 2 ng of NDMA/L. A related procedure, employing an automatic sampler instead of the short-path thermal desorber, provides convenient analysis of heavily contaminated samples and exhibits a reporting limit (same protocols cited previously) of 110 ng of NDMA/L. When the two methods are used together in a `two-tiered` protocol, NDMA concentrations spanning 4more » orders of magnitude (ng/L to {mu}g/L levels) may be measured routinely. The low-level procedure employing only the short-path thermal desorber was applied successfully to three sources of drinking water, where NDMA concentrations ranged between 2 and 10 ng of NDMA/L. The two-tiered protocol was applied to a series of contaminated groundwaters whose NDMA concentrations ranged between approximately 10-7000 ng of NDMA/L. The results agreed with those obtained from an independent collaborating laboratory, which used a different analytical procedure. 39 refs., 6 figs., 6 tabs.« less
  • A new solid phase extraction procedure extracts N- Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) at part-per-trillion (ng/L) concentrations from aqueous samples using a C{sub 18} (reversed-phase) membrane extraction disk layered over a carbon-based extraction disk. The reversed-phase disk removes nonpolar water-insoluble neutrals and is set aside; the carbon-based disk is extracted with a small volume of dichloromethane. NDMA is quantitated in the organic extract using a gas chromatograph equipped with both a short-path thermal desorber and a chemiluminescent nitrogen detector (CLND). The Method Detection Limit for the procedure is 2 ng of NDMA/L; the analyte recovery is approximately 57%. A related procedure substitutes amore » standard automatic sampler for the short-path thermal desorber, and is suitable for determining NDMA in heavily-contaminated aqueous samples. The Method Detection Limit for the `high-level` procedure, which employs an automatic sampler, is 180 ng of NDMA/L, with an analyte recovery of approximately 64%.« less
  • A new solid-phase extraction procedure extracts N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) at part-trillion (ng/L) concentrations from aqueous samples using a C{sub 18} (reversed-phase) membrane extraction disk layered over a recently introduced carbon-based extraction disk. The reversed-phase disk removes nonpolar water-insoluble neutrals and is set aside; the carbon-based disk is extracted with a small volume of dichloromethane. NDMA is quantified in the organic extract using a gas chromatograph equipped with both a short-path thermal desorber and chemiluminescent nitrogen detector. The detection limit for the procedure, calculated using two statistically unbiased protocols, is 3 ng of NDMA/L; the analyte recovery is nearly 57%. A relatedmore » procedure substitutes a standard automatic sampler for the short-path thermal desorber and is suitable for determining NDMA in heavily contaminated ($GTR@300 ng of NDMA/L) aqueous samples. The detection limit for the procedure, calculated in the same manner as above, is 300 ng of NDMA/L, with an analyte recovery of nearly 64%. The detection limits and measured recovery values are comparable to those observed in earlier work. The newer procedures described herein offer a 50-fold savings in extraction time and a 100-fold reduction in dichloromethane consumed per sample while maintaining the wide range (3-4 orders of magnitude concentrations of NDMA) observed for the original procedures used in tandem. 22 refs., 1 fig., 5 tabs.« less
  • ADA has developed a process for removing mercury from contaminated groundwater and has demonstrated a pilot-scale version of this process at a DOE site. The technology will treat the mercury-contaminated groundwater, primary liquid wastes in DOE`s inventory and the mercury-contaminated secondary liquid wastes that will result from many of the processes and activities planned for treating the mercury-contaminated solids, soils, debris, and aqueous wastes in DOE`s inventory. This process is also applicable to cleanup of mercury contaminated sites not found in DOE. ADA`s process is based on the highly efficient and selective sorption of mercury by noble metals. Contaminated liquidmore » flows through a packed bed that contains microporous sorbent particles on which a noble metal has been finely dispersed. When the sorbent is loaded with mercury to the point of breakthrough, the flow of contaminated liquid is switched to a fresh sorbent bed. The spent bed is regenerated by heating, first to drive off residual water and then to drive off the mercury. A small flow of purge gas carries the desorbed mercury to a condenser where the mercury is recovered. Current column tests at the Y-12 weapons plant are showing a removal of mercury from 800 ng/l to less than 1 ng/liter using two columns in series. In bench-scale tests using mercuric chloride from 0.5 mg/l to 50 mg/l Hg, ADA has demonstrated the key components that are needed for a practical, regenerable sorption process for removing and recovering dissolved mercury from liquid streams: (1) sorbents have been found that have a high capacity for elemental as well as dissolved, ionic mercury, (2) ionic mercury is removed at greater than 99% efficiency, and (3) the spent sorbent is thermally regenerable.« less
  • An accurate technique for the determination of part-per-trillion (pptr) levels of atmospheric CS/sub 2/ was developed. High accuracy and immunity to analyte losses were achieved by using /sup 12/C/sup 34/S/sub 2/ as an internal standard and by performing the analysis by GC/MS. High sensitivity was achieved by careful tuning of the GC/MS and by the preconcentration of CS/sub 2/ on Carbosieve B adsorbent. The GC/MS lower limit of detection for CS/sub 2/ in the single ion monitoring mode was 0.004 pmol/s. A data reduction algorithm based on the abundances of the sulfur and carbon isotopes in ambient air and standardmore » was developed and experimentally verified. Breakthrough volumes for CS/sub 2/ in ambient air using Carbosieve B as an adsorbent exceeded 60 L at a trapping mass flow rate of 1 L/min. Desorption efficiencies were 99% (+/-13%) at the 95% confidence level. Artificially induced losses produced no decrease in precision other than that attributable to a reduction in overall signal to noise ratio of the GC/MS signal. 14 references, 2 figures, 4 tables.« less