Investigation of the Love Canal Area of the Niagara River for the Presence of Unknown Organic Contaminants

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Abstract
A qualitative analysis of organic contaminants in the Niagara River water by high resolution wall coated open tubular column (WCOT) gas chromatography with selective mass spectrometric detection is described. Qualitative analysis of organic pollutants in water is rather a complex task. After the collection of a large Volume of a water sample, the sample is usually run through several extraction and separation steps before identification. During these manipulations, losses of compounds may occur or new impurities may be introduced with various solvents. Therefore, simplification of this procedure is required. This paper describes the detection of all of the major compounds by gas Chromatographic separation combined with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS). A major advantage is the minimum requirement for cleanup and the injection of a particular fraction extract onto the WCOT column. Dedicated mass Chromatograms of preselected masses at the mass range of the total ion current profile have been used for comparative measurements and identification. For the detection of trace pollutants, a preliminary separation into acidic, neutral, and basic fractions results in simplification of the analysis.

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