You are here:
SPECIATION OF NON-PESTICIDAL ORGANOTIN COMPOUNDS USING GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY
Citation:
Gallagher, P A., O M. Evans, A N. Parks, C A. Schwegel, A H. Ackerman, J T. Creed, AND S. Wilbur. SPECIATION OF NON-PESTICIDAL ORGANOTIN COMPOUNDS USING GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY. Presented at 2003 European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, January 12-17, 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
The goal of this research effort is development of analytical methods for the determination of compounds selected for the 1998 Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) [Note: chemicals on the CCL are denoted below with a single asterisk, *. Chemicals with a double asterisk, **, are used as Internal Standards (Recovery and Quantitative).]. These may include selected non-pesticidal* , pesticidal, and other types of organotin compounds: monomethyltin trichloride*, dimethlytin dichloride*, trimethyltin trichloride, monobutyltin trichloride*, dibutyltin dichloride*, tributyltin chloride, phenyltin trichloride, diphenyltin dichloride, triphenyltin chloride, tricyclohexyltin, tripropyltin chloride**, tetrapentyltin**, tetrabutyltin**, etc.. The method(s) should be adequate for gathering occurrence data under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) and should be applicable to / for compliance monitoring in the event selected non-pesticidal and / or pesticidal organotins become regulated contaminants under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Description:
Organotins can be classified into a broad class of compounds referred to as endocrine disruptors and are presently being used in many applications such as UV stabilizers in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes, antifoulants in marine paints, and as fungicides to name a few. The organotins used in PVC pipes are a growing concern given the increased use of PVC pipe in drinking water distribution systems. Preliminary studies have indicated that PVC pipe initially releases a large percentage of its organotins immediately after being placed into service and the concentration drops off with continued use. These data raise two issues: initial exposure severity and long-term low dose exposure effects of organotins. The first issue can be addressed rather easily using existing analytical methodologies. However, addressing the second issue requires the measurement of organotins at sub-ppb to fractional ppt, which is considerably more challenging. One of the most promising analytical techniques for the detection of organotins at extremely low concentrations involves gas chromatographic (GC) separation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).
This presentation will discuss the use of an Agilent GC-ICP-MS system for the detection of dimethyltin, monomethyltin, monobutyltin and dibutyltin. Preliminary performance data including detection limits and reproducibility at 5-10 times the method detection will be reported. This presentation will also provide isotope ratio performance data at low level concentrations utilizing the GC interface. The research findings will be presented in the context of the analytical requirements for PVC pipe leaching studies. Finally, data will be presented on the use of a liquid-liquid extraction as a means of pre-concentration prior to GC-ICP-MS detection.