TY - JOUR
T1 - A review of chemical warfare agent simulants for the study of environmental behavior
AU - Bartelt-Hunt, Shannon L.
AU - Knappe, Detlef R.U.
AU - Barlaz, Morton A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Safe Buildings Program, Susan Thorneloe, Senior Project Officer. The input of Susan Thorneloe and Paul Lemieux of the U.S. EPA is acknowledged.
PY - 2008/3
Y1 - 2008/3
N2 - There is renewed interest in the environmental fate of chemical warfare agents attributable to the intensified threat of chemical weapons use in a terrorist attack. Knowledge of processes that influence the fate of agents such as distilled mustard, lewisite, tabun, sarin, soman, and VX in the environment is important for development of disposal strategies and for risk and exposure assessments. However, it is often necessary to conduct studies examining chemical agent behavior using simulants due to the toxicity of the agents and usage restrictions. The objective of this study was to review the physical-chemical properties and mammalian toxicity of compounds that can be used to simulate chemical agents and to identify the most appropriate compounds to simulate specific environmental fate processes, including hydrolysis, sorption, bioavailability, and volatilization.
AB - There is renewed interest in the environmental fate of chemical warfare agents attributable to the intensified threat of chemical weapons use in a terrorist attack. Knowledge of processes that influence the fate of agents such as distilled mustard, lewisite, tabun, sarin, soman, and VX in the environment is important for development of disposal strategies and for risk and exposure assessments. However, it is often necessary to conduct studies examining chemical agent behavior using simulants due to the toxicity of the agents and usage restrictions. The objective of this study was to review the physical-chemical properties and mammalian toxicity of compounds that can be used to simulate chemical agents and to identify the most appropriate compounds to simulate specific environmental fate processes, including hydrolysis, sorption, bioavailability, and volatilization.
KW - Microbial degradation
KW - Partition coefficient
KW - Simulant
KW - Toxicity
KW - Warfare agent
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U2 - 10.1080/10643380701643650
DO - 10.1080/10643380701643650
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:38349087598
SN - 1064-3389
VL - 38
SP - 112
EP - 136
JO - Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 2
ER -