The Fate and Transport of Chemical Warfare Agent Simulants in Complex Matrices

Experiments to determine the fate and transport of the chemical warfare agent (CWA) simulants diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DIFP), O,S-diethyl methylphosphonothioate (OSDEMP), and 2-Chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES) exposed to complex matrix systems are reported here. The aforementioned simulants were used in place of O-isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate (GB), O-Ethyl S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methylphosphonothiolate (VX), and Bis (2-chloroethyl) sulfide (HD), respectively. At ambient temperature, simulant pH (2.63 to 12.01) and reaction time (1 minute to 24 hours) were found to have significant influence on the recovery of simulants from charcoal, plastic, and TAP (butyl rubber gloves) in aqueous media. Buffer systems used included, phosphate, acetate, borate, and disodium tetraborate. Organic extractions were carried out using a 90:10 (v/v) dichloromethane / 2-propanol solution. All extracts were analyzed with a gas chromatograph equipped with flame ionization and flame photometric detectors (GC-FID-FPD). The FPD was used to determine the amount of simulant recovery