ABSTRACT: Hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) is a high explosive released to the environment as a result of weapons manufacturing and testing worldwide. At Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Technical Area (TA) 16 260 Outfall discharged high-explosives-bearing water from a high-explosives-machining facility to Cañon de Valle during 1951 through 1996. These discharges served as a primary source of high-explosives and inorganic-element contamination in the area. Data indicate that springs, surface water, alluvial groundwater, and perched-intermediate groundwater contain explosive compounds, including RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine); HMX (octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine); and TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene). RDX has been detected in the regional aquifer in several
