Nitrogen mustards are dangerous and available blistering chemical warfare agents. In the presented study, six derivatization methods are compared for the analysis of degradation products of the most important blistering nitrogen mustards (ethyl diethanolamine, methyl diethanolamine and triethanolamine) by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Five silylation methods (using BSTFA and BSA) and one trifluoroacetylation method (using TFAA) were tested. The derivatization reactions were performed in acetonitrile. As the method with optimal results, trifluoroacetylation by TFAA was selected. Analytes reacted with the corresponding reagent rapidly, quantitatively, with stable kinetics and at room temperature. Calibration curves for quantitative analysis of ethanolamines after TFAA derivatization were created. Correspond-ing detection limits varied between 9?10-3 and 7?10-5 mmol?dm-3 for the tested analytes. The developed method was applied for the analysis of ethanolamines after extraction from sand using acetonitrile. Limits of detection were 11.4 to 12.3 ?g of the analyte in 1 g of sand. It is encouraged to use the developed method in military deployable laboratories designated for rapid identification of chemical warfare agents and corresponding degradation products.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The existence of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons poses a significant problem in terms of possible proliferation of technologies and materials, despite international agreements and regulations. The role of military forces in operations can be to support counter-proliferation initiatives to prevent their acquisition, deployment, or employment. The article analyzes the current situation in the field of site exploitation under CBRN environments, with a specific focus on biological threats. It describes a current state and a research question, which is addressed on the basis of scenario analysis methodology. The result is a scenario for the activities of troops in CBRN environments, which illustrates the possible operational reality during the localization of biological sites, their characterization and exploitation. The following application part presents proposals for the division of phases of the exploitation process and a proposal for the determination of CBRN and medical specialists of the Czech Armed Forces as the implementation elements.