APPLICATION OF HEADSPACE ANALYSIS, SOLVENT-EXTRACTION, THERMAL-DESORPTION AND GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS-SPECTROMETRY TO THE ANALYSIS OF CHEMICAL WARFARE SAMPLES CONTAINING SULFUR MUSTARD AND RELATED-COMPOUNDS

Samples of soil, munition fragments and wool, associated with a chemical warfare incident involving sulphur mustard, were analysed using headspace, solvent extraction and thermal desorption techniques combined with full scanning gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Quantitative analysis was undertaken for sulphur mustard, mustard sulphoxide and thiodiglycol, using solvent extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring. In a soil sample contaminated at ppm (w/w) levels all methods gave positive results for mustard and related compounds. Selected ion monitoring and thermal desorption were the more useful techniques at low ppb (w/w) levels. Cyclic decomposition products 1,4-thioxane and 1,4-dithiane appear to be useful indicators of mustard contamination when using thermal desorption analysis. The hydrolysis product thiodiglycol and hydrolysis/elimination product 2-(vinylthio)ethanol appear to be useful indicators of mustard contamination in soil samples when employing extraction methods.