Detonation of projectiles containing white phosphorus, a smoke-producing munition, contaminated Eagle River Flats, a salt marsh located on Fort Richardson, Alaska. Ingestion of highly toxic white phosphorus residues by dabbling waterfowl caused significant mortality, leading to the suspension of training with white phosphrus in wetlands and designation of Eagle River Flats as a Superfund site. The anaerobic sediments of shallow salt marsh ponds are ideal for longterm storage of the millimeter-size particles of white phosphorus ejected from detonated mortar and howitzer shells. In unsaturated sediment, white phosphorus particles ultimately sublime and oxidize, leaving nontoxic residues. In 1997, large pumps were installed in permanently ponded areas of Eagle River Flats to temporarily drain contaminated ponds. The complexity of the site required that we use multiple methods to monitor effectiveness of pond draining. In the drained ponds, we measured (a) sediment temperature and moisture conditions using sensors linked to a datalogger to determine if conditions were conducive to sublimation/oxidation; (b) white phos phourus concentrations remaining from past firing of white phosphorus munitions; and (c) residual white phosphorus from particles we planted int he surface sediment. We have used these methods for three years and have confirmed that the chosen remediation method is working.
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机译：爆炸产生的爆炸物含有白磷，一种产生烟雾的弹药，污染了位于阿拉斯加理查森堡的盐沼鹰河公寓。涉水禽摄入高毒性白磷残留物会导致重大死亡，导致在湿地中停止使用白磷进行培训，并将鹰河公寓指定为超级基金所在地。浅盐沼池的厌氧沉积物非常适合长期存储从爆破迫击炮弹和榴弹炮弹中喷出的毫米大小的白磷颗粒。在不饱和沉积物中，白磷颗粒最终升华并氧化，留下无毒残留物。 1997年，在Eagle River Flats的永久池塘区域安装了大型泵，以临时排干受污染的池塘。该场地的复杂性要求我们使用多种方法来监测池塘排水的有效性。在排水的池塘中，我们（a）使用与数据记录仪相连的传感器来测量沉积物的温度和湿度条件，以确定条件是否有利于升华/氧化； （b）过去发射白磷弹药后剩余的白磷浓度； （c）从我们在表面沉积物中种植的颗粒中残留的白磷。我们已经使用这些方法三年了，并且已经确认所选的修复方法正在起作用。
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