Determination of endosulfan and its metabolites in human urine using gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

A method was developed for determining the occupational exposure to endosul fan and its main metabolites (endosulfan-ether, -lactone and -sulfate) in h uman urine using dieldrin as an internal standard. Solid phase extraction ( SPE) and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS-MS) have been u sed due to their high sensitivity and selectivity in avoiding most matrix i nterferences. The recovery efficiencies of the tested compounds yielded mor e than 89.2% at the fortification level of 10 ng ml(-1) in urine and their relative standard deviations were between 9.1 and 12.8%. The detection limi t of each compound ranged between 6 and 18 pg ml(-1). Urine samples from ni ne pest control operators were analysed and total endosulfan concentrations between 94 and 2038 pg ml(-1) were found. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. A ll rights reserved.