Determination of several herbicides, fungicides and estrogens in water from various treatment processes of different water plants in Shanghai by solid phase extraction-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Abstract

To establish the solid phase extraction-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method for qualitative and quantitative determination of several herbicides, fungicides and estrogens in drinking water. Duplicate 1 L water samples were collected from various treatment processes of different water plants. Target pollutants were extracted by XAD-2 resin from water samples and were eluted by 30% acetone-methanol. GC/MS was employed for qualitative and quantitative analysis of target pollutants. The linear ranges of standard curves of 6 target compounds including atrazine, alachlor, 4-cumyphenol, thiabendazole, β-estradiol and ethylestradiol were 0.1 - 10 µg/ml and the R(2) values were 0.9915 - 0.9995. The detection limits, the recovery rates, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) were separately 0.01 - 0.40 µg/L, 74.0% - 112.0% and 2.3% - 14.8%. Atrazine (0.11 - 0.13 µg/L), 4-cumyphenol (0.20 - 0.35 µg/L), thiabendazole (0.92 - 1.46 µg/L), β-estradiol (1.02 - 1.32 µg/L) and ethylestradiol (0.96 - 1.66 µg/L)were all detected in raw water, post-coagulation water, post-sedimentation water and finished water using Huangpu River as water source. Alachlor was not detected in any water samples in Huangpu River. The 6 target compounds were not detected in any water samples from the water plants using Yangtse River as water source. The methods with high sensitivity and satisfying selectivity are suitable to simultaneously qualitative and quantitative determination of target pollutants in drinking water. Concentrations of above-mentioned pollutants in drinking water coming from Huangpu River are obviously higher than in drinking water coming from Yangtze River. Thiabendazole, β-estradiol and ethylestradiol at the level of µg/L exist in drinking water coming from Huangpu River and more attention should be paid to surveillance of future.