MRI: Acquisition of Radiochemical Mass Balance Equipment for Environmental Engineering

Seattle University, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

0216066 Thompson This proposal is for the acquisition of instrumentation that can be used to measure the carbon-14 isotope. The equipment will support undergraduate research activities in Seattle University's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The research activities discussed in this proposal seek to study uptake and transformation of the explosives RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine) and HMX (octahydro-1,3,5,7- tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine) by plants. The requested equipment will enable mass balances on [U- 14 C]RDX and [U- 14 C]HMX to be performed which will in turn determine the transport and fate of the explosives in plant tissues. Previous plant uptake studies with RDX and HMX have indicated an undesirable tendency to accumulate in the leaves of plant tissues with slow rates of transformation. This project will explore two ways in which to decrease RDX and HMX accumulation in plants and thus increase the applicability of phytoremediation of these compounds.