This document specifies the measurement of explosives and related nitrocompounds (as given in Table1) in soil and soil materials. This document is intended for the trace analysis of explosives and related compounds by liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Generally, LC-MS/MS measurement shows the lower LOQ (limit of quantification) for each compound in Table1 than using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV-detection (see AnnexB and AnnexC).
Under the conditions specified in this document, concentrations as low as 0,005mg/kg to 0,014mg/kg-dry matter can be determined, depending on the substance. Similar compounds, in particular various nitroaromatics, by-products and degradation products of explosive compounds can be analysed using this method provided that the applicability is checked on a case-by-case basis.