HEALTH CONSULTATION
SUNFLOWER ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT
DESOTO, KANSAS
STATEMENT OF ISSUES AND SUMMARY
This health consultation addresses a community concern that beef, from cattle grazed on Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant (SFAAP), could be contaminated with harmful levels of nitroguanidine (NQ) or other chemicals associated with past production activities at this facility. After inspecting site conditions at the SFAAP, considering currently available information about the nature and extent of environmental contamination on the installation, and reviewing pertinent scientific literature, we conclude that uptake of nitroguanidine by beef cattle is unlikely. However, it is not known if other chemicals may be present in grazing areas that could contaminate beef. We concur with the Army's proposed plan to sample soil, vegetation, and surface water in graze lands. If chemicals that are known to bioaccumulate in animals are detected in grazing areas, sampling of cattle may be needed. Details supporting our conclusions are presented here.
During our initial site scoping visit to the SFAAP in September 1995, we toured the installation and observed cattle grazing areas. Cattle, weighing on average about 500 pounds, graze on SFAAP for approximately 3 months. During that time they gain between 200-300 pounds. The cattle are then moved to finish pastures or feedlots where they remain until they weigh between 1,100-1,200 pounds. Once the cattle reach this optimum weight, they are sold to processing plants.
Much of the plant property is leased for agriculture, and cattle do graze in some areas where
nitroguanidine-containing wastewater 
was used to irrigate pastures over a two-year period, from
the fall of 1986 through the fall of 1988. A study was done to evaluate the land treatment system
at SFAAP and to determine the effect of the existing system on the soil and groundwater. The
process wastewater contained detectable quantities of the explosive NQ, guanidine nitrate (GN is
an intermediate material in the NQ production process), nitrate-nitrogen, sulfates, and low levels
of cadmium, chromium and lead. However, soil samples, from irrigated areas that received the
highest cumulative wastewater loading, contained no accumulation of wastewater constituents
except for nitrogen and salinity levels. The levels of nitrogen and salinity detected in these soil
samples would have no effect on cattle that graze in the area. Grasses, which utilize the nitrogen
from the wastewater, grow more lush. When these grasses decay, the nitrogen is returned to the
soil. Possible effects of increased salinity are plant toxicity and decrease soil permeability. The
concentrations of metals detected in soils were comparable to background surface soils
Nitroguanidine and guanidine nitrate levels in surface soils were also very low (below 2 parts per
million).
Most contamination on SFAAP is associated with areas designated as Solid Waste Management
Units (SWMUs). Some of the SWMUs are within grazing areas, but fences keep cattle from
entering these contaminated parcels. Although the dewatered blender ponds (SWMU 13) are not
fenced, steep banks and cattle guards at the entrance make it unlikely that cattle would stray into
this area from adjacent grazing land. Moreover, chemical concentrations in background soils are
consistent with levels detected in soils and sludge samples from SWMU 13.
Available information does not suggest that grazing areas on SFAAP would contain significant levels of chemical contamination. There may be some runoff from SWMUs that could transport contaminants into adjacent grazing land. The Army is planning additional sampling this year to address the concern about grazing areas. They propose sampling of soil and vegetation in the northeast, central and west grazing areas to determine what type of contaminants, if any, are present. The vegetation sampling will provide information about potential uptake of contaminants in plants. Analysis will include explosives, metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides. Dioxin will also be analyzed in samples from the west grazing area, which is near the burning grounds where dioxin was previously detected. And finally, surface water and sediment samples will be collected where cattle have access to ponds and streams. If chemicals known to concentrate in tissue are present at concentrations exceeding background levels, sampling of beef cattle may be needed.
Concerns about the safety of consuming meat, primarily from game harvested from contaminated areas on ammunition plants in the U.S., have prompted a number of biota investigations. We review the findings of several of these studies and also provide information concerning the potential for nitroguanidine uptake in tissue.
Biota Studies:
Explosives
Biota studies at ammunition plants in the U.S. indicate little or no uptake of explosives in animal tissues. Deer were the target species sampled in all of these studies. These studies evaluated HMX, RDX, dinitrotoluene (DNT), trinitrotoluene (TNT) and its metabolites (1,3-dinitrobenzene, 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, 2-A-4,6- dinitrotoluene, and 4-A-2,6-dinitrotoluene). The explosives levels in deer meat were at or below the analytical detections limits, and do not pose a health threat to people who consume the meat. Although no cattle studies were done, we expect explosives levels in beef would be comparable to those found in venison since both cattle and deer are ruminants.
At Badger Army Ammunition Plant (BAAP) in Baraboo, Wisconsin, deer tissues (liver, muscle and heart) were analyzed for dinitrotoluene (DNT). None of the tissues from the 12 deer taken from BAAP contained 2,4-DNT or 2,6-DNT at or above the 0.1 part per million (ppm) detection limit.
Liver and muscle from deer, quail and rabbit harvested from the Alabama Army Ammunition Plant were analyzed for TNT and 9 metabolites. None of these tissues contained explosives levels above the detection limit of 0.2 ppm.
Deer studies at Joliet Army Ammunition Plant (JAAP), Illinois, address concerns about environmental contamination in the explosive manufacturing area and the load, assemble and pack (LAP) area. No bioaccumulation of explosives were detected in venison, liver and kidneys from deer harvested from JAAP.
Muscle and liver from deer harvested from the Aberdeen Proving Ground and background sites in Maryland contained no detectable levels of explosives. The analysis included 2,4,6-TNT and its metabolites (1,3-DNB, 1,3,5-TNB, 2-A-4,6-DNT, and 4-A-2,6-DNT), RDX, HMX, 2,4-DNT, and 2,6-DNT.
None of the ammunition plant studies have included analysis for nitroguanidine (NQ) in animal tissue. However, because NQ-containing wastewater was land applied at SFAAP, a laboratory study was done to assess effects on local vegetation. There was some evidence that NQ, at least in soybeans, is absorbed by roots and translocated to the leaves, where it induces chlorosis (growth inhibition and leaf damage) and is metabolized. In the same study it was unclear if there was uptake of NQ in grasses (tall fescue and smooth bromegrass) because little or no effects were seen in these plants.
Laboratory studies on the effects of nitroguanidine on animals has also been investigated. Animal experiments indicate that NQ is unlikely to accumulate in tissue because the chemical is not extensively metabolized. [ pV-2] Experiments in rats given nitroguanidine orally, demonstrated that virtually 100% of the unmetabolized chemical is excreted in the urine within 48 hours. The NQ was initially concentrated in the gastrointestinal tract, then distributed in the blood to the major organs. However, within 48 hours after dosing, less than 0.02% of the administered dose remained in any major organ. [ pV-2] These findings suggest that even if NQ is detected in soils and/or vegetation in grazing areas on SFAAP, it appears improbable that tissue accumulation in beef would occur. Because the unmetabolized compound is quickly eliminated in urine, deposition of NQ in meat is not expected, particularly since the cattle are slaughtered months after they grazed on SFAAP.
No studies of health effects of nitroguanidine in humans have been reported in the literature. [pVII-1,] No chronic toxicity or carcinogenicity studies are available for NQ, therefore it is classified in Group D; Not classified as to human carcinogenicity. [ pXI-1]
Other Chemicals
Some biota studies also evaluated uptake of organochlorine pesticides (DDT, DDD, DDE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and metals because these chemicals can be stored in tissues. At Joliet Army Ammunition Plant, Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), and respective off-post background locations for both sites, no uptake of PCBs or organochlorine pesticides occurred in deer tissues. Arsenic was detected in venison, and in deer liver from APG, in deer harvested from both on-post and off-post locations. However, none of the arsenic levels pose a health threat to people who consume the meat. In a deer study conducted in New Jersey, cadmium levels in livers from older deer prompted the issuance of a health advisory. Based on these studies, it appears that metals can accumulate in deer tissues; however the levels may or may not pose a health threat.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
If further clarification is needed or if additional information becomes available for review, please do not hesitate to contact this office at 404-639-6070.
Lorna L. Bozeman, M.S.
