POLLUTANTS IN DRINKING-WATER AND WASTE-WATER

Extracts of drinking water and effluents from municipal and industrial sewage treatment plants were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and by high-performance liquid chromatography combined with ultraviolet and/or mass spectrometric detection. After column chromatography or flow-injection analysis bypassing the analytical column, ionization was performed by a thermospray interface. Identification of the pollutants was carried out by tandem mass spectrometry, generating daughter-ion spectra by collision-induced dissociation. Most pollutants in drinking water and in the effluents of waste water treatment plants are surface-active compounds of anthropogenic origin or their biochemical degradation products. Difficulties encountered during separation, detection and identification are presented and discussed and techniques for solving these problems are proposed.