Determination of selected organochlorine compounds in air and water from Youngstown, Ohio

Abstract

Because organochlorine compounds are toxic, persistent and tend to bioaccumulate in the food chain, assessing their concentrations in the environment is important. Air and water samples from Youngstown, OR, were collected for a week during the summer of 1996 and concentrations of pentachlorophenol (PCP, derivatized to pentachlorophenolacetate, PCPA), pentachloroanisole (PCA) and hexachlorobenzene (RCB) were determined. All three compounds were found in air, but only PCP was found in water. Besides quantitation of the analytes, collection efficiencies of polyurethane foam, XAD-2 resin, glass fiber filters and resin-based extraction cartridges were also examined for each compound. While PCPA recoveries from water and the polyurethane foam were good, recoveries from XAD-2 resin and glass fiber filters were extremely low. PCA and RCB recoveries were low in all sampling media. Incomplete extraction is the most likely reason for the low recoveries. The presence of these compounds suggests atmospheric transport and deposition may be an important source of contaminants to air and water in the Youngstown area.