The ISO document of ISO/TC/190/SC3/WG11/N11 is a working draft of international standard (WD) dealing with analytical method for the determination of explosives and related compounds using high performance liquid chromatography. The scope of this WD covers the storage of samples, preparing test portion, extraction and instrumentation. The main purpose of this study was to improve the extraction conditions which were already adopted in the WD. For this purpose, mechanical shaking method could be corresponded up to 18 hours of ultrasonic bath extraction in the WD was tested. Methanol was also tested with the intention of being added as an extracting solvent other than acetonitrile in the WD. According to the results, 16 hours of mechanical shaking method showed statistically the same effectiveness as that of 18 hours of ultrasonic bath extraction. In case of extracting solvent, methanol also showed statistically the same extraction capability as acetonitrile for DNB, TNT, 2-A-DNT and 2,4-DNT. However, the recovery rate of TNB with methanol extraction was 40% higher than that of acetonitrile extraction. Through adding mechanical shaking method into committee draft (cf. the next stage draft of the WD during the process for making international standard), ISO standard of analyzing explosives and related compounds in soil would become more useful in dealing with huge number of field samples in the laboratory. In other aspect, adopting methanol as an alternative extracting solvent would be very effective in the terms of exchangeability with GC-ECD/MS method which is being developed by German experts.

Keywords: Explosive;Extraction method;Mechanical shaking extraction;Pressurised liquid extraction;Ultrasonic extraction;