Red water (waste)

Red water (waste)

Red water (also known as "Sellite water") and pink water are two distinct types of wastewater associated with TNT. Pink water is produced from equipment washing processes after munitions filling or demilitarization operations. Red water is produced during manufacture, as part of the process used to purify the crude TNT. It has a complex composition containing more than a dozen aromatic compounds, but the principal components are inorganic salts (sodium sulfite, sulfate, nitrite and nitrate) and sulfonited nitroaromatics.

Red water is actually colourless or very pale buff at the time of generation; the red colour is produced by photolytic reactions under the influence of sunlight. Despite the name, red water is not necessarily any darker in colour than pink water; the colour depends mainly on duration of solar exposure.

Red water is significantly toxic, more so even than TNT itself. As such it has always been considered a hazardous waste. It has traditionally been disposed of by evaporation to dryness (as the toxic components are not volatile), followed by incineration. Much research has been conducted to develop better disposal processes.

References

* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/explosives-env.htm Explosives & the Environment] at GlobalSecurity.org
* [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=BD3c7FN4x5YC&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=%22red+water%22+tnt&source=web&ots=mJ8bSKkqJL&sig=I9nPLNW7fx97JPNruHMtsEOwZlc&hl=en Toxicity and Metabolism of Explosives] (by Jehuda Yinon), referenced at Google Books.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Red water — may refer to:* Red Water, 2003 television film * Red water (waste) …   Wikipedia

  • red water — noun a) A cattle disease, with one symptom being reddish urine. b) A waste product in the manufacture of TNT …   Wiktionary

  • Water supply network — Public infrastructure …   Wikipedia

  • Water conservation — refers to reducing the use of water.The goals of water conservation efforts include: * Sustainability To ensure availability for future generations, the withdrawal of fresh water from an ecosystem should not exceed its natural replacement rate. * …   Wikipedia

  • Pink water — and red water (waste) are two distinct types of wastewater associated with TNT. Red water is produced during manufacture. Pink water is produced from equipment washing processes after munitions filling or demilitarization operations, and as such… …   Wikipedia

  • Water supply and sanitation in Israel — is intricately linked to the historical development of Israel in the context of scarce water resources. Because the coastal plain of historical Palestine had few water resources, Theodor Herzl already envisioned the transfer of water from the… …   Wikipedia

  • Red Hook, Brooklyn — Red Hook is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 6. Location and history Before annexation into the 12th Ward of Brooklyn, Red Hook was a separate village. It is named… …   Wikipedia

  • Water supply and sanitation in Canada — is nearly universal and generally of good quality. It is a municipal responsibility under the regulation of the provincial governments, in partnership with the federal government. Water use in Canada is high compared to Europe, since water… …   Wikipedia

  • Red Dog mine — Infobox Settlement name = Red Dog mine pushpin pushpin label position = left pushpin map caption = Location of the Red Dog mine in Alaska pushpin mapsize = subdivision type = Country subdivision name = United States subdivision type1 = State… …   Wikipedia

  • Water Resources Development Act of 1992 — The Water Resources Development Act of 1992 (WRDA 1992), USPL|102|580, was enacted by Congress of the United States on October 31, 1992. [ [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi bin/bdquery/D?d102:1:./temp/ bdMCKV:@@@D summ2=m |/bss/d102query.html||Public… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”