Continuous liquid-liquid extraction for the preparation of chlorinated water samples for the ames bioassay

Abstract

Estimation of the health risk associated with the exposure to trace organic chemicals in water require sampling of large volumes, typically 1001, or more. Liquid-liquid extraction with dichloromethane is the EPA method of choice for the analysis of acid or base-neutral organic chemicals in water. This study evaluated the use of a 2 l. per hour continuous liquid-liquid extractor (CLLE) to isolate mutagens from water. Compounds isolated from water were analyzed by GC and GC/MS profile analysis and were evaluated for mutagenic activity by the Ames bioassay test. The results of this work show that the CLLE with dichloromethane is well suited for concentrating a sufficient amount of base-neutral trace organics for chemical identification and for the Ames bioassay.