Please post and circulate:
SEEKING LAB for 6 ISOMERS of DNT (soil and drinking water)
I am writing on behalf of Citizens for Safe Water Around
Badger, a community-led nonprofit environmental group that has been monitoring
the cleanup of Badger Army Ammunition Plant and other contaminated Department
of Defense sites for more than 20 years.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)
currently requires the U.S. Army to test groundwater and dozens of residential
wells near Badger for all 6 isomers of Dinitrotoluene (DNT) however some
community members would like to either confirm their results or, for homes that
are not on the required testing list, residents would like to pay for testing
themselves.
As a public service, our organization is trying to
identify laboratories that can test DRINKING WATER (private residential well)
for all 6 isomers of DNT.
We are also looking for a laboratory that can test SOILS
for all isomers of DNT. Environmental regulators have not required the
Army to conduct soil testing for the 4 less common forms of DNT (2,5-, 3,5-,
3,4-, and 2,3-DNT) however new land owners may pursue independent
testing.
We understand that some labs are certified for DNTs as
"explosive residue". If this applies to your lab, we would like
to know what detection limits can be expected of the method used in this
analytical approach; please make sure to include the name of the test method in
your response. We would also like an estimate for testing a single
private residential well.
For labs certified for the "BNA" (base neutral
acids) group of analytes, the WDNR indicated that the lab will have to use the
"Selected Ion Monitoring" (SIM) GC/MS (gas chromatograph/mass
spectrometer) method to reach the low detection limits achieved by the Army (SpecPro
Lab) to detect the DNT isomers. We would like to know if your lab is
capable of conducting the SIM method and what are the lowest DNT isomer
detection limits that your lab is capable of reaching. (We ask because
the Health Advisory Level for total DNTs in drinking water is 0.05 ug/l and the
test will be used to determine if drinking water is safe to use.) We
would also like an estimate for testing a private residential well.
CSWAB does not and
will not advocate for any particular company for this or any other contract
work. Our goal is to provide the public with good information so community
members can make informed decisions for themselves. CSWAB does not charge
for any publications, fact sheets, newsletters or other literature –
everything is provided free.
Please send your
response to Laura Olah, Executive Director, Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
(CSWAB) at info@cswab.org. Questions?
Call
(608) 643-3124.
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