Simultaneous determination of ultra-trace phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pesticides in surface water by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) method was developed for determining 17 hazard compounds containing phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pesticides in surface water. A 1.0 L surface water sample was placed in a separatory funnel and saturated with NaCl, and the solution was extracted with 40 mL of methylene chloride. Under the established condition, the lowest quantification limit was 1.0-10 ng/ L and the relative standard deviations were less than 22%. The method was used to analyze 70 surface water samples collected from 35 regions in Gum-River. The samples revealed the compounds concentrations in the range of 1.1-26,604 ng/L. Maximum concentrations of compounds detected were not exceeded guidelines established in other countries. The developed method may be valuable for monitoring hazards in water.