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METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND MONITORING OF POLYNUCLEAR AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN SELECTED U.S. WATERS
Citation:
Saxena, J., D. Basu, AND J. Kozuchowski. METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND MONITORING OF POLYNUCLEAR AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN SELECTED U.S. WATERS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/1-77/052.
Description:
A method for concentration of trace quantities of the six representatives of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) family has been developed and successfully applied to PAH monitoring in finished and raw waters. PAH are collected by passing water through polyurethane foam plugs. Water is heated to 62 + or - 2C prior to passage and flow rate is maintained at approximately 250 ml/min to obtain quantitative recoveries. The collection is followed by elution of foam plugs with organic solvent, purification by partitioning with solvents and column chromatography on Florisil, and analysis by two dimensional thin layer chromatography-fluorometry and gas liquid chromatography-FID. Employing this method and a sample volume of 60l, PAH have been detected in all the ten water supplies sampled. Although the sum of the six representative PAH in drinking waters was small (0.9 to 15 ppt), the values found for raw waters were as high as 600 ppt. It is unclear if PAH are removed during treatment or transformed to another product and escape detection.