Are There Emerging Organic Pollutants in Your Wastewater? : Whitley Burchett

Are There Emerging Organic Pollutants in Your Wastewater?
An Inexpensive Way to Find Out

(Presented at WEFTEC 2004, New Orleans, LA October 6, 2004)

Casey LeBlanc: Whitley, Burchett & Associates
Peter Green: University of California, Davis
Edward Schroeder: University of California, Davis
Michael Stallard

ABSTRACT

Trace organic compounds in water are often environmentally significant but difficult to detect. Therefore, water samples are typically concentrated before analysis. However, conventional sample preparation methods can account for two thirds of the total length of time of the analytical procedure and are often the rate-limiting step for the analysis of organic compounds in water. This presentation introduces an inexpensive method that is capable of screening water for the presence of target compounds so that time-consuming, quantitative analyses are reserved for samples where the presence of the target compounds has been confirmed. The method was tested in both laboratory and field applications and a variety of organic compounds (estrone, estradiol, estriol, 17-a ethynylestradiol, ibuprofen, diazinon, chlorpyrifos, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and caffeine) were evaluated for their compatibility with the method.