Table 5. Mean concentrations (g/kg) of compounds
spiked into Fort Leonard Wood soil and incubated at room
temperature (22 2C). (From Miyares and Jenkins, in
press.)
Incubation
time
1,3-DNB
2,4,6-TNT
2,4-DNT
2,6-DNT
0 hour
458
563
513
533
4 hour
421
461
472
504
1 day
360
306
428
452
3 day
318
241
433
440
7 day
253
173
396
396
9 day
245
165
422
412
13 day
187
125
355
323
20 day
117
79
307
239
Objective
at concentrations above the detection limit of the method
(about 1 g/kg). A random set of these samples was
The objective of the experiments presented here is
to determine the identities and concentrations of ERCs
also analyzed at CRREL and our results agreed with
that accumulate in the soil profile near buried land
those from Lawrence Livermore.
mines, as a function of environmental factors, mine type,
The site was also screened using a team of canines
and time after burial.
trained to detect explosives. The dogs showed some
interest in a few areas, but they did not positively de-
tect explosives anywhere.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Land mine burial
Initial characterization of the soils at the
The initial set of land mines was buried in a research
DARPA Electronic Nose Testing Facility,
minefield at the DARPA Electronic Nose Testing Fa-
Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
cility during the week of 19 July 1998. Four types of
Prior to the development of the site at Fort Leonard
Yugoslavian mines were buried (Table 6): two antitank
Wood, soil samples were collected and analyzed by the
mines--the plastic-cased TMA-5 (Fig. 1a), and the
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for
metallic-cased TMM-1 (Fig. 1b)--and two plastic-
nitroaromatic and nitramine explosives using gas chro-
cased antipersonnel mines--the PMA-1A (Fig. 1c) and
matography with an electron capture detector (GC-
the PMA-2 (Fig. 1d). The main charge in all four of
ECD). No nitroaromatics or nitramines were detectable
these types of land mines is TNT. The number of indi-
Table 6. Specifications of the land mines buried at the Fort Leonard Wood research
minefield.
Size
Burial
(L W H)
Date
Main
depth†
Type
buried
charge
Booster
(mm)
(cm)
(312 275 113)
TMA-5
7/98
TNT (5.5 kg)
RDX (200 g)
8.5
(326 diam. 90)
TMM-1
7/98
TNT (5.6 kg)
None
6
(140 68 31)
PMA-1A
7/98
TNT (200 g)
None
2
(68 diam. 30)
PMA-2
7/98
TNT (100 g)
Hexogen*(14.5 g)
4
(270 diam. 100)
Type 72
6/99
TNT/RDX (5.4 kg)
PETN
15
(240 diam. 117.6)
VS2.2
6/99
TNT/RDX (1.93 kg)
None
8
(90 diam. 45)
TS50
6/99
TNT/RDX (50 g)
None
2 or 5
(90 diam. 45)
VS50
6/99
RDX (43 g)
None
2 or 5
*Hexogen is 90% RDX.
†Depth from the soil surface to the top of mine.
5
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