Extraction of explosives from soil followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis with negative chemical ionization.

A new, simple and accurate method for extraction of explosives from soil was developed and validated. The method includes one hour gentle extraction of compounds from soil in acetonitrile:dichloromethane 50:50 at 30°C. Further analysis was made with GC-MS using cool on-column injection and negative chemical ionization. The method increased the recovery of the more volatile products, generated higher accuracy and was extensively time-saving compared to the conventional EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) 8330 method. Applications are demonstrated on commercial reference materials.