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Fate and Effects of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) from Dumped Ammunition in a Field Study with Fish and Invertebrates

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Abstract

2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is the major explosive ingredient in ammunition dumped into lakes and sea after World War II. The aim of the present field study was to study the fate and effect of TNT and its degradation products from dumped ammunition. Artillery shells were cleaved longitudinally to expose TNT and placed in open boxes filled with sediment, and then placed at the sea bottom. Sediment samples were taken in each box at the start and after 3, 9, 13, 20, 24, 33, and 36 months, and the sediments were tested for toxicity with bioassays using Nitocra spinipes (96 h), Hyalella azteca (96 h), and Daphnia magna (24 and 48 h). The result from the bioassays showed no impact of dumped ammunition on the survival of H. azteca and mobility of D. magna. Bioassays with N. spinipes showed significant differences in toxicity between control boxes and boxes with shells after 9 months and thereafter. The mean mortality (± SD) of N. spinipes in boxes with shells was 63 ± 22%, and the mortality in control boxes was 23 ± 17%. No continuous increase in sediment toxicity over time was found. After 3 years, cages with European flounder (Platichtys flesus) and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) were attached to the boxes. The fish were examined for biochemical and physiological effects 8 weeks later. Exposure to ammunition, which had rested on the sea bottom 3 years, caused no significant effects on body indices, hematological variables, and detoxification and antioxidant enzymes activities in the flounder. The sediment, bile, and blood plasma of exposed fish, and hepatopancreas of exposed mussels, contained no detectable levels of TNT and its metabolites. Only minor disappearance of TNT from the shells could be detected by visual inspection on site (by scuba divers). This study suggests that the survival of sensitive benthic organisms, e.g., N. spinipes, might be negatively affected at an ammunition dumping site.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the Swedish armed forces and Birgit and Birger Wåhlströms foundation. We thank the 4th Mine Warfare Flotilla for professional assistance during sampling, and Åke Larsson and Lars Förlin for valuable discussion.

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  1. Department of Applied Environmental Science, Göteborg University, Box 464, SE-405 30, Göteborg, Sweden

    Helene Ek, Göran Dave & Eva Nilsson

  2. Department of Zoology/Zoophysiology, Göteborg University, Box 463, SE-405 30, Göteborg, Sweden

    Joachim Sturve

  3. Department of Chemical Ecology & Ecotoxicology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, SE-223 62, Lund, Sweden

    Göran Birgersson

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Ek, H., Dave, G., Nilsson, E. et al. Fate and Effects of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) from Dumped Ammunition in a Field Study with Fish and Invertebrates. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 51, 244–252 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-005-0117-5

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