title: Analytical methods for the determination of alkylphenolic surfactants and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in wastewaters and sewage sludges. I a review of methodologies.
abstract: Alkylphenolic surfactants (alkylphenol polyethoxylates) and the polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants are important environmental contaminants and have been implicated as endocrine disrupters. Both groups of compounds have come under increasing scrutiny from legislators and there are proposals to curb their use. However, these compounds continue to enter the environment and there is a need to determine their occurrence, fate and behaviour throughout the hydrosphere and in wastewater treatment processes to determine mass fluxes and sources. This paper reviews analytical methods for their determination in the aqueous and solid (sediment / sludge) phase. Extraction, cleanup and quantification by gas and liquid chromatographic (GC and LC) techniques linked to mass spectrometric (MS) detectors are considered. The literature indicates that for the alkylphenols research papers favour the use of LC/MS which is more amenable to determination of more highly ethoxylated oligomers, however, standard methods focus on GC/MS and the less ethoxylated oligomers and parent alkylphenols. The use of GC with negative chemical ionisation MS techniques predominates for the analysis of polybrominated diphenyl ethers.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Processes and Water Technology Group, Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Scrimshaw
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Langford
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Lester
mesh_terms: D002623:Chemistry Techniques, Analytical / Q000379:methods; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004703:Endocrine System / Q000187:drug effects; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004987:Ethers / Q000032:analysis; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis*; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004987:Ethers; D005411:Flame Retardants; D010636:Phenols; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical