Liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric determination of nonylphenol polyethoxylates and nonylphenol carboxylic acids in surface water.

This paper presents a new LC-MS-MS method for the determination of the concentration of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs) and nonylphenol carboxylic acids (NPECs) in surface and drinking water using a reversed-phase column, which is fast and specific by nature. This method allows the simultaneous analysis of the two families of compounds in the same extract. Liquid-solid extraction of 100 ml of sample is performed on graphitized carbon black (GCB) cartridges. Reversed-phase chromatography is performed on a C8 column with isocratic elution. The electrospray interface is used to monitor the [M+NH4]+ ion for NPEOs and the [M-H]- ion for NPECs. Detection limits range from 0.01 to 0.05 microg/l for NP(1-17)EOs and are 0.01 microg/l for NP(1-2)ECs. Mean recoveries range from 78 to 107% with relative standard deviations ranging from 6 to 16%. Applicability of the method is demonstrated by results from a monthly sampling of river water at 11 sampling points located downstream of suspected polluting industries in Quebec (Canada).

Nonylphenolic compounds in drinking and surface waters downstream of treated textile and pulp and paper effluents: a survey and preliminary assessment of their potential effects on public health and aquatic life.

Eleven drinking water treatment plants, located downstream of textile plants or pulp and paper mills, have been sampled monthly during a year for the analysis of 17 nonylphenol ethoxylates (NP1-17EO) and two nonylphenoxycarboxylic acids (NP1-2EC). At all but one plant, results in the drinking water, for the sum of these 19 substances, range between below detection levels and 6.7 microg/l. Annual means are between 0.02 and 2.8 microg/l. At the other plant, the yearly average concentration is 10.4 microg/l and the monthly maximum is 43.3 microg/l. In the surface (pre-treatment) water, the annual mean concentrations of the 11 plants range between 0.14 and 17.8 microg/l and the recorded instantaneous maximum is 55.3 microg/l. According to Canadian health authorities, drinking water is a negligible route of human exposure to nonylphenolic compounds, even at the highest concentrations found in this study. After transformation of the data into nonylphenol equivalents, about 20% of the surface water samples exceed the Canadian 1 microg/l nonylphenol water quality guideline for the protection of aquatic life. Some results also exceed Québec's 6 microg/l nonylphenol guideline. The efficiency of the plants in removing nonylphenolic compounds from drinking water is highly variable, ranging from 11% to 99%.