RAPID ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC MICROCONTAMINANTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL WATER SAMPLES BY TRACE ENRICHMENT AND LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY ON A SINGLE SHORT COLUMN

On-column trace enrichment and liquid chromatography using a single sh ort (20 mm length) high-pressure packed column was optimized for the r apid simultaneous identification and quantification of a wide range of organic microcontaminants in environmental water samples. The quality of different C-18 bonded silica packing materials in terms of their p erformance (i.e., peak capacity, repeatability) and enrichment/extract ion characteristics (i.e., recovery, selectivity) was tested. With 15- ml samples, limits of detection of 0.1-0.4 mu g/l and 0.5-1.1 mu g/l w ere achieved for tap and surface water, respectively. The applicabilit y of the system was demonstrated by the screening of real environmenta l samples and the provisional identification of unknowns.