title: Determination of 1,4-Dioxane in the Cape Fear River Watershed by Heated Purge-and-Trap Preconcentration and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.
abstract: Recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data show that 1,4-dioxane is frequently detected in U.S. drinking water derived from both groundwater and surface water. 1,4-Dioxane is a likely human carcinogen, and an excess 10(-6) cancer risk is associated with a drinking water concentration of 0.35 μg/L. To support 1,4-dioxane occurrence investigations, source identification and exposure assessment, a rapid and sensitive analytical method capable of quantifying 1,4-dioxane over a wide concentration range in a broad spectrum of aqueous matrices was developed. The fully automated method is based on heated purge-and-trap preconcentration and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with selected-ion storage and has a reporting limit of 0.15 μg/L. Quantification of 1,4-dioxane was accomplished by isotope dilution using mass-labeled 1,4-dioxane-d8 as internal standard. Matrix spikes yielded recoveries of 86-115% in drinking water, groundwater, surface water, and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. Also, 1,3-dioxane can be distinguished from 1,4-dioxane. The method was applied to investigate 1,4-dioxane occurrence and sources in the Cape Fear River watershed of North Carolina. 1,4-Dioxane concentrations ranged from <0.15 μg/L in nonimpacted surface water to 436 μg/L downstream of a WWTP discharge. In WWTP effluent, 1,4-dioxane concentrations varied widely, with a range of 1.3-2.7 μg/L in one community and 105-1,405 μg/L in another. Discharges from three municipal WWTPs were primarily responsible for elevated 1,4-dioxane concentrations in the Cape Fear River watershed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University , Campus Box 7908, Raleigh, North Carolina 28223, United States.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University , Campus Box 7908, Raleigh, North Carolina 28223, United States.
authors.forename: Catalina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lopez-Velandia
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University , Campus Box 7908, Raleigh, North Carolina 28223, United States.
authors.forename: Detlef R U
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Knappe
mesh_terms: D000135:Acid Phosphatase; D004146:Dioxanes / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D060587:Groundwater / Q000032:analysis; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes; D009657:North Carolina; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D000071681:Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000135:Acid Phosphatase; D004146:Dioxanes; D007527:Isoenzymes; D000071681:Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C025223:1,4-dioxane