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THE ROLE OF GC/MS AND LC/MS IN THE DISCOVERY OF DRINKING WATER DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS
Citation:
Richardson, S D. THE ROLE OF GC/MS AND LC/MS IN THE DISCOVERY OF DRINKING WATER DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS. Presented at 222nd American Chemical Society National Meeting, Chicago, IL, August 26-30, 2001.
Impact/Purpose:
(1) Use toxicity-based approach to identify DBPs that show the greatest toxic response. (2) Comprehensively identify DBPs formed by different disinfectant regimes for the 'Four Lab Study'. (3) Determine the mechanisms of formation for potentially hazardous bromonitromethane DBPs.
Description:
Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) has played a pivotal role in the discovery of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water. DBPs are formed when disinfectants, such as chlorine, ozone, chlorine dioxide, or chloramine, react with natural organic matter in the water. Following the initial discovery of the first DBP--chloroform--by Rook in 1974, GC/MS would become the key tool used for measuring these DBPs in water and for discovering other DBPs that were formed. Over the last 25 years, hundreds of DBPs have been identified, mostly through the use of GC/MS, which has spawned further health effects studies and regulations on some of the DBPs. More recently, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) has been used to try to uncover highly polar DBPs that most experts think have been missed by earlier GC/MS studies. The role that GC/MS and LC/MS has played in these discoveries will be presented.