ANALYSIS OF NITROAROMATIC COMPOUNDS IN URINE BY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS-SPECTROMETRY FOR THE BIOLOGICAL MONITORING OF EXPLOSIVES

Organic nitrocompounds are the most frequently used constituents of ex plosives and some of them have been evaluated to be highly toxic or ev en carcinogenic. Human contact with explosives may originate from a va riety of sources, including occupational exposure during the productio n of ammunition as well as environmental exposure due to the contamina tion of soil and ground water reservoirs on former military production sites and training areas. This paper describes two gas chromatography -mass spectrometry-selected ion monitoring methods for the determinati on of twelve nitroaromatic compounds in urine (nitrobenzene, 1,2-dinit robenzene, 1,3-dinitrobenzene, 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, 2-nitrotoluene, 3-nitrotoluene, 4-nitrotoluene, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, 2,6-dinitrotoluene , 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene, 4-amino-2,6-dinit rotoluene). The analytes are detectable in the lowest mu g/l range, wi th imprecisions of 3-22% within series and 5-29% between series, depen ding on the compound of interest. Both procedures are rapid and relati vely easy to perform and, therefore, are advantageous for the screenin g of occupationally or environmentally exposed persons. We analysed ur ine samples obtained from nine workers from an ammunition dismantling workshop and from twelve control persons. 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene was de tected in six samples at concentrations between 4 and 43 mu g/l. The m ain metabolites of 2,il,6-trinitrotoluene, 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene and 2-amino-3,6-dinitrotoluene, were found in a concentration range fr om 143 to 16 832 mu g/l and from 24 to 5787 mu g/l, respectively. Nonc onjugated aminodinitrotoluenes were present as varying percentages of the total amount. 2,4-Dinitrotoluene and 2,6-dinitrotoluene were found in two samples (2-9 mu g/l). Nitroaromatics were not detectable in ur ine specimens from control persons. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.