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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Tucson, Arizona » SWRC » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #416579
Research Project: Understanding Ecological, Hydrological, and Erosion Processes in the Semiarid Southwest to Improve Watershed Management

Location: Southwest Watershed Research Center

Title: Effect of gypsum on transport of IMX-104 constituents in overland flow under simulated rainfall

Author
item Polyakov, Viktor
item BEAL, S. - Us Army Corp Of Engineers (USACE)
item MEDING, S.M. - University Of Arizona
item DONTSOVA, K. - University Of Arizona

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/16/2024
Publication Date: 11/12/2024
Citation: Polyakov, V.O., Beal, S., Meding, S., Dontsova, K. 2024. Effect of gypsum on transport of IMX-104 constituents in overland flow under simulated rainfall. Journal of Environmental Quality. 54(1):191–203. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20652.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20652

Interpretive Summary: This study investigates gypsum soil amendment as a method to diminish off-site contamination by munition energetics. These energetics, originating from residues of low order detonations on military training grounds, are hazardous for the environment. This research examined mitigating effects of gypsum on rainfall driven transport of IMX-104 components (NTO, DNAN, RDX, and HMX) including in runoff, infiltration, and sediment. The results have implications for risk assessment and land management.

Technical Abstract: Residue of energetic formulations, which is deposited on military training grounds following incomplete detonation poses biotic hazards. This residue can be transported off-site, adsorb to soil clays and organic matter, degrade, or be taken up by plants and animals. Its harmful effects can be mitigated by localizing the energetics at the site of initial deposition using soil amendments and allowing them to bio and photo degrade in-situ. Small plots with coarse loamy soil were used to study the effect of gypsum (CaSO4 * 2H2O) on transport and redistribution under simulated rainfall of various sizes of IMX-104 particles, which consist of NTO (3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one), DNAN (2,4-dinitroanisole), RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine), and HMX (octahydro-1,3,5,7- tertranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine). Addition of gypsum more than doubled infiltration and decreased sediment loss by 16% comparing to control, while also affecting the overall dynamics of sediment. The post rainfall mass balance of IMX-104 in the order from greater to smaller pools was: 1) soil surface retention, 2) off-site loss to overland flow, and 3) sub-surface infiltration. Overall, the application of gypsum significantly decreased concentrations and the total loss of dissolved DNAN, RDX, and HMX with surface runoff. In addition, gypsum significantly decreased NTO, DNAN, HMX and delayed NTO, DNAN, RDX, HMX peak discharge of fine particulate energetics with runoff. The infiltration of NTO in gypsum treatment was 5-fold greater than in control. Moreover, DNAN and RDX were also present in infiltration, while in control none were found. Gypsum shifted the total mass balance of energetics towards subsurface flow. Current study indicates that gypsum may decrease off-site transport of energetic constituents in the soils that are subject to surface sealing.