FLUORESCENCE DETERMINATION OF POLYAROMATIC HYDROCARBONS AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF SELF-FLUORESCENCE OF NATURAL, DRINKING, AND WASTE-WATERS

At the present time the monitoring of trace amounts of organic substan ces of technogenic origin (petroleums, petroleum products) in natural, drinking, and waste waters is taking on increasing significance in so lving problems of environmental protection. Fluorescence methods of an alysis are used to detect contamination by petroleums and petroleum pr oducts [1-3]. It is known that the visible fluorescence of petroleums and petroleum products is due to the presence in them of aromatic and heterocyclic compounds, which absorb in the UV region of the spectrum [4]. However, we should mention that modern spectrofluorometric method s of detection of traces of petroleum products in water involve a long sample preparation (extraction, sorption) for the isolation of polycy clic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) [1]. In natural water samples the flu orescence of PAH is detected against a background of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the signal of the spontaneous Raman effect (SRE) of exciting radiation on water molecules, which makes it impossible to de termine trace amounts of PAH directly in the matrix (natural. drinking , and waste waters) without their preliminary isolation. Exceptions ar e methods of synchronous spectrofluorometry [5], but their use require s the presence of expensive instruments, which can be serviced only by highly qualified specialists. The problem of rapid detection and quan titative estimation of the combination level is essentially reduced to distinguishment of the fluorescence signal of the PAH against a backg round of the fluorescence of the DOM. [GRAPHICS]