Bacterial Degradation of Nitrogenous Energetic Compounds (NEC) in Coastal Waters and Sediments; Memorandum rept. 1 Jan 2005-31 Dec 2008

摘要

Once released in the environment, either through detonation, casing breakage, or by slow leaks from unexploded ordnance (UXO), nitrogenous energetic compounds (NEC, such as TNT, HMX, RDX) may sorb onto particulates, partition to dissolved organic matter, or remain dissolved in aqueous media. Our hypothesis was that NEC would be transient in coastal ecosystems. This was based primarily on the understanding that microbial grown in these systems is typically nitrogen-limited and there are few examples of nitrogen based organic compounds that are not rapidly metabolized in these environments. During 14 sampling events in coastal waterways from 2002 to 2007, we measured TNT mineralization rates in surface sediment and water samples that were often similar to those of other organic compounds that are transient in natural ecosystems due to their use in bacterial metabolism, such as petroleum hydrocarbons and amino acids.