Background, Aim and Scope. For decades, very large areas of former military sites have been contaminated diffusely with the persistent nitroaromatic explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). The recalcitrance of the environmental hazard TNT is to a great extent due to its particulate soil existence, which leads to slow but continuous leaching processes. Although improper handling during the manufacture of TNT seems to be a problem of the past in developed countries, environmental deposition of TNT and other explosives is still going on unfortunately, resulting from thousands of unexploded ordnance or low order explosions at munitions test areas and at current battlefields. Objective. Sustainable phytoremediation strategies for explosives in Germany, which intend to use trees to decontaminate soil and groundwater ('dendroremediation'), have to consider that most of the former German military sites are already covered with woodlands, mainly with conifer stands. Therefore, parallel investigation of the remediation potential is necessary for both of the selected hybrids of fast growing broadleaf trees, which are waiting for planting and forest conifers, which have already proven for decades that they are able to grow on explosive contaminated sites. Main Features. A short literature review is given regarding phytoremediation of TNT with herbaceous plants and some general aspects of dendroremediation are discussed. Furthermore, an overview of our TNT-dendroremediation research network is introduced, which has the strategic goal to make dendroremediation more calculable for a series of potent trees for site-adapted in situ application and for the assessment of tree remediation potentials in natural attenuation processes. Results and Discussion. Some of our methods, results and conclusions yet unpublished are presented. For a preliminary calculation of area-related annual TNT dendroremediation potential of five-year-old trees, the following values were assessed: Salix EW-13 6.0, Salix EW-20 8.5, Populus ZP-007 4.2, Betula pendula 5.2, Picea abies 1.9 and Pinus sylvestris 0.8 g m⁻² a⁻¹. For a 45-year-old spruce forest, an annual natural attenuation potential of 4.2 g TNT m⁻² a⁻¹ was found. Conclusion, Recommendations and Perspective. Our main results deliver quantitative proposals for dendroremediation strategies in situ and provide decision aids. Also aspects of growth of raw materials for energy production are considered. Our dendroremediation research concept for TNT and its congeners can be easily completed for other trees of interest and it can also be applied to herbaceous plants. Knowing the current bottlenecks of phytoremediation and considering the known environmental behaviour of other contaminants, elements of our methodological approach may be easily adapted to those pollutant groups, e.g. for pesticides, pharmaceuticals, PAHs, chlorinated recalcitrants and, with some restrictions, to inorganics and to multiple contaminations. Our dynamical dendrotolerance test systems will help to predict tree growth on polluted areas. To provide some light into the black box of TNT dendroremediation, experimental data regarding the uptake, distribution and degradation of [¹⁴C]-TNT in mature tree tissues will be reported in the second part of this publication.

A research on a treatment system of human excreta provided for the use in mountainous areas was carried out. The system was composed of two treatment processes, an anaerobic digestion and a seepage spray process. Vertical distributions of chemical components were observed in the anaerobic digestion tank, because the top of the tank was covered with water permeable phase and rain water was penetrated into the tank. Comparing the amount of inflow into and of evapotranspiration from the system, about 70% of the inflow was overflowed from the seepage spray tank, under the assumption that the whole rain water fallen on the system was permeated into it.

An investigation was made to find analytical method for anilazine and propazine remaining in agricultural products. Since anilazine was found to be decomposed enzymatically when applied on cabbage, radish, etc., phosphoric acid was added to the sample to suppress the enzymatic activity before subjecting the sample to an extraction with acetone. The extract was re-extracted into n-hexane, cleaned up with a Florisil column, and finally subjected to a determination with ECD-GC. Propazine was found to be insusceptable to any enzymatic decomposition, but it was subjected to the same acetone extraction and n-hexane re-extraction as with anilazine, separated from anilazine with a Florisil column, and subjected to a determination with NPD-GC. The detection limits of these methods are 0.01 micro g/g for both anilazine and propazine. The addition-recovery experiments conducted resulted in recoveries of over 79 and 82% with coefficient of variation of less than 5.6 and 5.5% for alilazine and propazine, respectively (n=5). The present methods were applied to actual agricultural products, with neither anilazine nor propazine detected (n=22).

Many complaints have been made about bad smelling and tasting food and accidents resulting in the death of animals in Nagano Prefecture. The method of headspace SPME-GC/MS has been found very effective as a screening method to investigate the cause of these complaints and accidents. This method is characterized mainly in that the operation is simple without using any solvents for extraction, causing no environmental pollution; the extraction may be carried out in a short time with a small quantity of sample in low concentration, preventing reagent contamination, the whole extract may be injected, leading to high sensitivity, and the fiber may be used repeatedly, making the analytical cost inexpensive. This paper describes representative examples of cases in which the relevant causes have been solved.