VOLATILE AND SEMIVOLATILE ORGANOCHLORINE COMPOUNDS IN TAP AND RIVERINE WATERS IN THE AREA OF INFLUENCE OF A CHLORINATED ORGANIC-SOLVENT FACTORY

The study of volatile and semi-volatile organochlorinated compounds, V OC and SVOC, respectively, in the river and tap water of an area under the influence of a chlorinated organic solvent factory has shown that the industrial activities are reflected in the composition of the riv er waters, namely by the presence of chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, penta and hexachlorobenzene a nd octachlorostyrene as major pollutants, but that the tap waters are free from products which can be related to this origin. However, the p otable water contains significant concentrations of species derived fr om chlorination, namely chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochlor omethane and bromoform, as well as pesticides of wide use in agricultu re, alpha- and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane. The VOC and SVOC compositi ons in these tap waters are very similar to that found in the waters o f Barcelona, a reference urban area which is not under the influence o f large organochlorine solvent factories. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd