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Discovering Novel Chemicals in Drinking Water: Point-of-use Filters with Non-Targeted Analysis using GC and LC
Citation:
Newton, S., H. Liberatore, AND J. Sloop. Discovering Novel Chemicals in Drinking Water: Point-of-use Filters with Non-Targeted Analysis using GC and LC. SETAC NTA, Durham, NC, May 22 - 26, 2022. https://doi.org/10.23645/epacomptox.19765759
Impact/Purpose:
N/A
Description:
A direct link has been established between contaminated drinking water and negative public health outcomes such as increased rates of gastrointestinal illnesses, nervous system or reproductive effects, and chronic diseases such as cancer. However, hundreds to thousands of unidentified, trace contaminants can be observed in typical drinking water in the United States, which has relatively stringent standards for known drinking water contaminants. The consequences of widespread, chronic exposure to trace contaminants on public health cannot be evaluated until the contaminants are identified. Non-targeted analysis (NTA) has become one of the most powerful tools available to identify unknown contaminants in environmental matrices. However, higher concentrations are often needed for correct identifications compared to targeted methods. Previous work has shown that carbon-based point-of-use filters can capture a wide array of contaminants from large volumes of drinking water (~100 gallon or ~380 liters) and can serve as excellent preconcentrating sampling devices for NTA studies. To advance previous work, a method has been developed to include both gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) NTA methods. Spiking experiments were performed to evaluate extraction recovery of spiked compounds from the filters that cover a wide range of vapor pressures and octanol-water partition coefficients (Kow). Finally, a limited number of samples have been collected via mail from large drinking water systems around the country such as in New York City and Dekalb County, Georgia. MS1 LC data was matched to MS-Ready formulas and metadata from the CompTox Chemicals Dashboard (~883,000 chemicals) while MS2 LC data was matched to spectral libraries and in silico predicted spectra. GC-EI data were matched against NIST and Wiley spectral libraries with CI data serving as further confirmation of their identities. Results show the presence of a large number of compounds not typically monitored in drinking water studies, including current-use pesticides, fungicides used in consumer products, and industrial chemicals. The method developed in this study is ready for deployment on a larger scale, and the results of the pilot samples demonstrate the need for a national drinking water study aimed at discovering emerging contaminants. Abstract does not reflect Agency policy.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Discovering Novel Chemicals in Drinking Water: Point-of-use Filters with Non-Targeted Analysis using GC and LC
NEWTON_NTA_SETAC_POSTER_TOSTICS_220512.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 1302.256 KB, about PDF)