Determination of the potent mutagen 3-chloro-4-dichloromethyl-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-franone (MX) in water by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection

Abstract A highly sensitive method for the determination of 3-chloro-4-dichloromethyl-5-hydroxy-2(5 H )-franone (MX) in water by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection is described. MX was derivatized with 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropanol and the product was easily decomposed by UV irradiation. The disappearance of the peak on the chromatogram after the irradiation was used for the identification of MX; the amount of MX was calculated from the decrease in peak height. The method was applied to the analysis of five samples of chlorinated domestic sewage. MX (141.6-2.2 ng/1) was detected in all samples with a detection limit of 0.8 ng/1. The recovery of MX was more than 97.5% at the level of 20.0 ng/1 added.