The Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons at the ng/L Level in Ottawa Tap Water

Abstract

Samples of Ottawa drinking water, collected in January and February 1978 were analysed by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) for fifty polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and five oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (0-PAH), following extraction of the organic species using Amberlite XAD-2 macroreticular resin. In the January sample, thirty PAHs, ranging in concentration from 0.05 to 14 ng/L with a mean value of 3.8 ng/L and a total weight of 114 ng/L and four 0-PAHs, ranging in concentration from 0.10 to 1.8 ng/L with a mean value of 0.91 ng/L and a total weight of 3.7 ng/L, were detected. In the February sample. thirty-six PAHs, ranging in concentration from 0.05 to 8.1 ng/L with a mean value of 1.4 ng/L and a total weight of 50.4 ng/L and five 0-PAHs, ranging in concentration from 0.20 to 2.4 ng/L with a mean value of 1.0 ng/L and a total weight of 5.2 ng/L. were detected. Twenty-eight PAHs and four 0-PAHs were common to the two samples. The use of Amberlite XAD-2 macroreticular resin to extract PAHs from drinking water is shown to be effective, although the recovery of indhidual PAHs from artificially loaded XAD-2 resin varied from 57 to 100%.