Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at selected burning grounds at Los Alamos National Laboratory

A commercial immunoassay field test (IFT) was used to rapidly assess the total concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the soil at selected burning grounds within the explosives corridor at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Results were compared with analyses obtained from LANL Analytical Laboratory and from a commercial laboratory. Both used the Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPA`s) Methods 8270 and 8310. EPA`s Method 8270 employs gas chromatography and mass spectral analyses, whereas EPA`s Method 8310 uses an ultraviolet detector in a high-performance liquid chromatography procedure. One crude oil sample and one diesel fuel sample, analyzed by EPA Method 8270, were included for references. On an average the IFT results were lower for standard samples and lower than the analytical laboratory results for the unknown samples. Sites were selected to determine whether the PAHs came from the material burned or the fuel used to ignite the burn, or whether they are produced by a high-temperature chemical reaction during the burn. Even though the crude oil and diesel fuel samples did contain measurable quantities of PAHs, there were no significant concentrations of PAHs detected in the ashes and soil at the burning grounds. Tests were made on fresh soil and ashes collected after a large burn and on aged soil and ashes known to have been at the site more than three years. Also analyzed were twelve-year-old samples from an inactive open burn cage