ANALYSIS OF ENDOSULFAN AND ITS METABOLITE S IN CROPS WITH GC-ECD AND GC MS/

Endosulfan (ES), a widely used organochlorine pesticide, is oxidized t o ES-sulfate in the environment. In addition, ES is metabolized to ES- sulfate, ES-alcohol, ES-ether, ES-lactone and other products in plants . A simple and rapid method was developed for the simultaneous determi nation of ES and its metabolites, including cr-ES, P-ES, ES-sulfate, E S-alcohol, ES-ether and ES-lactone, with GC. In this method ES and its metabolites are eluted in three fractions from a silica gel column. T he metabolites are identified by GC/MS. The developed method was appli ed to crops in which alpha-ES, beta-ES and ES-sulfate had been detecte d by use of an established method. These compounds were also detected by the new method, together with ES-ether, ES-lactone and ES-alcohol i n some samples. The recoveries of ES and its metabolites fortified at the levels of 0.1 mu g/g and 1 mu g/g were more than 90%. The detectio n limits of alpha-ES, beta-ES, ES-ether and ES-lactone were 0.25 ng/g, and those of ES-sulfate and ES-alcohol were 0.5 ng/g, respectively.