Abstract |
Identification of compounds in contaminated media is essential for determining sources of pollution and for assessing risks posed by the chemicals to ecosystems or human health. Eighty-five compounds were identified or tentatively identified in a 1-L extract of water sampled above a pollutant plume containing wastes from a chemical plant. Gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry determined exact masses of apparent molecular ions and the exact masses and relative isotopic abundances of their (plus)1 and (plus)2 isotopic mass peaks, which provided their elemental compositions. Ion compositions, mass spectral libraries, the presence of related compounds, and knowledge of organic chemistry provided tentative identifications, half of which were confirmed by comparison of analyte retention times and mass spectra with those of standards. |