Measurement of 1,4-dioxane in surface water by headspace GC-MS

1,4-Dioxane was classified as a Group 2B carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The compound was measured in surface water with a headspace gas chromatographic mass spectrometric detection. A 5 mL water sample was placed in a 10 mL headspace vial and saturated with NaCl, and the solution was spiked with 1,4-dioxane-d8 as an internal standard and sealed with a cap. Water samples were collected from twenty-two basins of Gum-River on June and September 2012, respectively. As a result, 1,4-dioxane was detected in the concentration range of 0.49-43.0 μg/L (mean 2.0 μg/L) in the frequency of about 30% in surface water samples.