EVALUATION OF LOW-PRESSURE INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY FOR THE ANALYSIS OF GASEOUS SAMPLES

An alternate ion source for mass spectrometry (MS) has been developed and tested for its efficiency in ionizing gaseous samples. This work i nvolves the use of a helium low-pressure inductively coupled plasma (I CP) MS system for the detection of halogenated gas chromatographic eff luents. Its performance has been evaluated in terms of sensitivity, de tection limit, linear range and reproducibility. Results show detectio n limits of < 10 pg with a linear range of about 2-3 orders of magnitu de. Repeatability tests show relative standard deviations of between 2 and 5%. Solvent effects have been investigated that show the advantag es and disadvantages of venting. As an application, the gas chromatogr aphy low pressure ICP-MS system has been used for the analysis of pest icides.