title: Pentafluorobenzyl esterification of haloacetic acids in tap water for simple and sensitive analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with negative chemical ionization.
abstract: Chlorine is the most widely used disinfectant for control of waterborne diseases in drinking water treatment. It can react with natural organic matter in water and form haloacetic acids (HAAs). For analysis of HAA levels, derivatization with diazomethane is commonly recommended as the standard methodology in Japan. However, diazomethane is a carcinogenic alkylating agent. Therefore, in this study, a safe, simple, and sensitive quantification method was developed to monitor HAAs in drinking water. Pentafluorobenzyl esterification was used for pretreatment. The pentafluorobenzyl-ester derivative was detected by gas chromatography-negative ion chemical ionization-mass spectrometry analysis with very high sensitivity for HAAs analysis. The method has low detection limits (8-94 ng L(-1)) and good recovery rates (89-99%) for HAAs. The method was applied to 30 tap water samples from 15 cities in the Kansai region of Japan. The levels of HAAs detected were in the range 0.54-7.83 μg L(-1). Dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, and bromochloroacetic acid were the major HAAs detected in most of the tap water, and accounted for 29%, 20% and 19% of the total HAAs, respectively. This method could be used for routine monitoring of HAAs in drinking water without exposure of workers to occupational hazards.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Yoshida, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Can
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Yoshida, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Yoshida, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Junxia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Yoshida, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Kouji H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Yoshida, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Electronic address: koizumi.akio.5v@kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koizumi
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000032:analysis; D001565:Benzoates / Q000737:chemistry; D062845:Chloroacetates / Q000032:analysis; D002947:Cities; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004951:Esterification; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated / Q000737:chemistry; D007564:Japan; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D001565:Benzoates; D062845:Chloroacetates; D060766:Drinking Water; D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C016274:bromoacetate
keywords: Haloacetic acid; Pentafluorobenzyl ester; Tap water; Trichloroacetic acid