NSWC/WOL/TR 75-3 5 



4.1.1 Objective of Analysis 



The objectives of explosion products analysis are as follows: 



(a) Establish the base of information on the present quality of 

 water bodies and sediment in the vicinity of the explosion test 

 area for evaluating future changes in water quality. 



(b) Determine the amounts of toxic substances, chemicals, 

 organic substances or solid wastes introduced into bodies of water 

 and sediment immediately after the explosion. 



(c) Determine the effects of continued testing at a site in 

 terms of possible long term accumulation of pollutants from the 

 tests. 



4.1.2 Parameters for Analysis 



The choice of parameters for analysis depends primarily on the 

 type of information sought. It is of vital importance to try to 

 understand the complete problem. The number of tests performed on 

 such samples should be based on the following considerations: 



(a) The analysis should produce valuable data and valid 

 conclusions can be drawn from it. Tests should be ruled out if they 

 are insignificant to the objective of the program. 



(b) Priority of tests should be established according to their 

 importance, practicality, and cost. Very often part of the tests 

 must he abandoned because of lack of time, equipment, and personnel. 

 Only the more important ones will be processed. 



(c) In addition to the tests used for identification of various 

 types of pollutants (e.g. explosion products), nonspecific tests 

 (e.g. pH, temperature, total carbon and turbidity) should also be 

 considered. These tests are frequently used to correlate data in 

 the whole analysis. 



The parameters and the nonspecific tests for several explosives 

 are listed in Table 3. These are given as a general guideline. 

 The specific analyses to be performed in a water pollution study will 

 depend on the types of explosive materials used in the test and the 

 objective of the program. 



In general, it is more important to measure the potentially 

 harmful products than the harmless ones. However, one that is 



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