Download or read book Optimization of an Analytical Method for Determining White Phosphorus in Contaminated Sediments written by Susan Taylor and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An analytical method was optimized to determine the concentration of white phosphorus (WP) in sediments contaminated by smoke munitions. The method uses isooctane as the extractant and a gas chromatograph as the determinative instrument. Both field-contaminated samples and spiked sediments were analyzed and results on the spiked samples indicate that the method has a better than 80% recovery rate for WP. The detection limit for the method is 0.88 microg/kg of soil. The WP recovery is sensitive to the water content of the sediments and to prolonged shaking. Fluidizing the wet sediments by adding water to saturated soil greatly increases WP recovery. Since field samples are contaminated with WP particles of various sizes, subsamples may not accurately represent the concentration of the sample as a whole ... Laboratory analysis, Sediment contamination, White phosphorus.