Determination of diphenylarsinic acid and phenylarsonic acid, the degradation products of organoarsenic chemical warfare agents, in well water by HPLC-ICP-MS

Diphenylarsinic acid (DPAA) and phenylarsonic acid (PAA), which were degradation products of organoarsenic chemical warfare agents used as sternutatory gas, were detected in the well water at Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The standard material of DPAA was synthesized with aqueous arsenic acid and phenylhydrazine in order to determine organic arsenic compounds in well water. The DPAA showed a protonated ion at m/z 263 [M + H]+ and a loss of H2O ion at m/z 245 [M + H − H2O]+ from protonated ion by the electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The quantitative analysis of DPAA and PAA was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and the system worked well for limpid liquid samples such as well water. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.