TRACE ANALYSIS OF BROMATE IN DRINKING WATERS BY MEANS OF ONLINE COUPLING IC-ICP-MS

The on-line-coupling of ion chromatography (IC) and inductively couple d plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a powerful tool for the determi nation of bromate in drinking waters. The use of a high-capacity and h igh-performance anion-exchanger combined with an NH4NO3-based elution system allows the determination of bromate in almost every water sampl e without any sample pretreatment. The method detection limits in the water samples investigated are 50 to 65 ng/L or 44 to 58 pg bromate, r espectively. Considering sensivity as well as imprecision (5% at 500 n g/L bromate) and short analysis times (8 to 15 min per sample includin g sample uptake), the described IC-ICP-MS coupling is well suited for precise routine analyses of bromate in drinking waters at the sub mu g /L level.