Identification of volatile organics in Warsaw tap water using gas chro
matography combined with mass spectrometry is described. About 100 com
pounds (including alkanes, arenes, halogenated hydrocarbons, alcohols,
aldehydes, ketones, furan and its derivatives, and nitrogen compounds
) have been identified. The presence of the following halocompounds wh
ich are not listed by the EPA has been established: cyanogen chloride,
cyanogen bromide, chloroacetylene, bromoacetylene, CHCl2I, CHClBrI, C
HBr2I, and CHBrI2. Water from Vistula was found to be polluted by hydr
ocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and
sulphur compounds. To isolate volatile organics from 2 liter water sam
ples, a two step enrichment method, followed by freezing in a trap coo
led with liquid nitrogen, has been used.