Parameters for Evaluation of the Fate, Transport, and Environmental Impacts of Chemical Agents in Marine Environments

The risk posed by munitions to human health and the environment is assessed by using of physical, chemical, and toxicological parameters for evaluation of the fate, transport, and environmental impacts of chemical warfare agents in marine environments. The most useful data found for the transport evaluations for chemical warfare agents in the marine environment include data on the temperature dependence of the rate of hydrolysis of N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethylamine in seawater. Cyanogen chloride is formed from the chlorination of drinking water containing aromatic compounds and ammonium ion, while the primary fate of cyanogen chloride in water is hydrolysis to chloride and cyanate species. The saturation water solubility found to be less important to the fate of 1,1'-thiobis[2-chloroethane] released to the marine environment than the rate at which it dissolves.