Letter▼ Nitrogen isotopes I would like to draw your attention to a claim made in a recent news article by Anke Schaefer (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2006, 40, 7453–7454). The article claimed: “Now, for the first time, researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) have used the technique on nitrogen-containing compounds.” The study that the author is referring to (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2006, 40, 7710–7716) is not the first time that researchers have applied compound-specific stable isotope (ratio) analysis (CSIA) to nitrogen-containing (organic) compounds. I can think of at least one older study that applied CSIA of stable nitrogen isotopes to nitroaromatic contamination in groundwater. The study I am referring to was conducted by the U.S. Army almost a decade ago and spawned three publications (1–3). The earlier study also yielded promising results regarding nitrogen fractionation within the contaminant plume. FARRUKH AHMAD GSI Environmental
[email protected] (1) Miyares, P. H.; et al. Using Stable Isotopes of Carbon and Nitrogen as In-Situ Tracers for Monitoring the Natural Attenuation of Explosives; Prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Report No. 99-18, 1999. (2) Coffin, R. B.; et al. Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Analysis of TNT: Two-Dimensional Source Identification. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2001, 20, 2676–2680. (3) Pennington, J. C.; et al. Monitored Natural Attenuation of Explosives. Soil Sed. Contam. 2001, 10, 45–70.
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—Lawrence J. Marnett Editor-in-Chief, Chemical Research in Toxicology Mary Geddes Stahlman Professor of Cancer Research Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
APRIL 15, 2007 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2653
