This method is for the determination of purgeable volatile organic compounds (VOC's) in surface water, ground water, and drinking water in any stage of treatment. The method is applicable to a wide range of organic compounds, including the four trihalomethane disinfection by-products, that have sufficiently high volatility and low water solubility to be removed from water samples with purge and trap procedures.
VOC's are purged from the sample by bubbling an inert gas through the aqueous sample. The purged sample components are trapped on a sorbent and when purging is complete, the sorbent tube is heated and backflushed with helium to desorb the trapped sample components into a capillary gas chromatography (GC) column interfaced to a mass spectrometer (MS).
Volatile water soluble, polar compounds which have relatively low purging efficiencies can be determined using this method.
The method recommends that all samples be collected in duplicate. Fill sample bottles to overflowing and be sure to not flush out any of the preservative in the sample container. If samples are suspected to contain residual chlorine, add about 25 mg of ascorbic acid per 40 mL of sample to the sample bottle before filling. Sodium thiosulfate is recommended to reduce the residual chlorine in the sample the analysis will not be analyte that are gases at room temperature (such as vinyl chloride), or analytes in Table 7 of the method. Three milligrams of sodium thiosulfate should be added for each 40 mL of water sample.
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| Hold Times, Preservatives, Preps, Collection, Analytical & Documentation | |
|---|---|
| Holding Time: | 14 days from sample collection to analysis. Store samples at in an area free of organic solvent vapors and direct or intense light at ≤ 4°C until analysis. |
| Preservatives: | Adjust the pH of all samples to <2 at the time of collection, but after dechlorination, by carefully adding two drops of 1:1 HCl for each 40 mL of sample. Some samples must be stored at 4°C if they foam after acidification. |
| Required Preps: | Two 50mL VOA vials each equipped with a Teflon faced silicone septum |
| Collection Method: | Grab sampling |
| Analytical Methodology: | GC/MS |
| Documentation: | 
524.2
|
| Analyte | Formula | CAS Number | Detection Limit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethylbenzene | C8H10 |
100-41-4 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Styrene | C8H8 |
100-42-5 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| cis-1,3-Dichloropropene | C3H4Cl2 |
10061-01-5 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| trans-1,3-Dichloropropene | C3H4Cl2 |
10061-02-6 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| n-Propylbenzene | C9H12 |
103-65-1 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| n-Butylbenzene | C10H14 |
104-51-8 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| p-Xylene | C8H10 |
106-42-3 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 4-Chlorotoluene | C7H7Cl |
106-43-4 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,4-Dichlorobenzene | C6H4Cl2 |
106-46-7 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,2-Dichloroethane | C2H4Cl2 |
107-06-2 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) | C6H12O |
108-10-1 |
5 |
µg/ |
| Diisopropyl ether | C6H14O |
108-20-3 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| m-Xylene | C8H10 |
108-38-3 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene | C9H12 |
108-67-8 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Bromobenzene | C6H5Br |
108-86-1 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Toluene | C7H8 |
108-88-3 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Chlorobenzene | C6H5Cl |
108-90-7 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene | C6H3Cl3 |
120-82-1 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Chlorodibromomethane | CHBr2Cl |
124-48-1 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Tetrachloroethene | C2Cl4 |
127-18-4 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| sec-Butylbenzene | C10H14 |
135-98-8 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,3-Dichloropropane | C3H6Cl2 |
142-28-9 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| cis-1,2-Dichloroethene | C2H2Cl2 |
156-59-2 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| trans-1,2-Dichloroethene | C2H2Cl2 |
156-60-5 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Methyl tert-butyl ether | C5H12O |
1634-04-4 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,3-Dichlorobenzene | C6H4Cl2 |
541-73-1 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Carbon tetrachloride | CCl4 |
56-23-5 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,1-Dichloropropene | C3H4Cl2 |
563-58-6 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 2,2-Dichloropropane | C3H6Cl2 |
594-20-7 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane | C2H2Cl4 |
630-20-6 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| tert-Butyl ethyl ether | C6H14O |
637-92-3 |
3 |
µg/L |
| Chloroform | CHCl3 |
67-66-3 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Benzene | C6H6 |
71-43-2 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,1,1-Trichloroethane | C2H3Cl3 |
71-55-6 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Bromomethane | CH3Br |
74-83-9 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Chloromethane (Methyl chloride) | CH3Cl |
74-87-3 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Dibromomethane | CH2Br2 |
74-95-3 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Ethyl bromide | C2H5Br |
74-96-4 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Bromochloromethane | CH2BrCl |
74-97-5 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Chloroethane | C2H5Cl |
75-00-3 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Vinyl chloride | C2H3Cl |
75-01-4 |
0.3 |
µg/L |
| Methylene chloride | CH2Cl2 |
75-09-2 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Bromoform | CHBr3 |
75-25-2 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Bromodichloromethane | CHBrCl2 |
75-27-4 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,1-Dichloroethane | C2H4Cl2 |
75-34-3 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,1-Dichloroethene | C2H2Cl2 |
75-35-4 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Trichlorofluoromethane | CCl3F |
75-69-4 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Dichlorodifluoromethane | CCl2F2 |
75-71-8 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Trichlorotrifluoroethane | C2Cl3F3 |
76-13-1 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,2-Dichloropropane | C3H6Cl2 |
78-87-5 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Methyl ethyl ketone (2-Butanone) | C4H8O |
78-93-3 |
5 |
µg/L |
| 1,1,2-Trichloroethane | C2H3Cl3 |
79-00-5 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Trichloroethene | C2HCl3 |
79-01-6 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane | C2H2Cl4 |
79-34-5 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,2,3-Trichlorobenzene | C6H3Cl3 |
87-61-6 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Hexachlorobutadiene | C4Cl6 |
87-68-3 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Naphthalene | C10H8 |
91-20-3 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| o-Xylene | C8H10 |
95-47-6 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 2-Chlorotoluene | C7H7Cl |
95-49-8 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,2-Dichlorobenzene | C6H4Cl2 |
95-50-1 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene | C9H12 |
95-63-6 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| 1,2,3-Trichloropropane | C3H5Cl3 |
96-18-4 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| tert-Butylbenzene | C10H14 |
98-06-6 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| Cumene (Isopropylbenzene) | C9H12 |
98-82-8 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
| tert-Amyl methyl ether | C6H14O |
994-05-8 |
3 |
µg/L |
| Cymene (4-Isopropyltoluene) | C10H14 |
99-87-6 |
0.5 |
µg/L |
* The analytes and detection limits listed for each method represent the typical detection limits and analytes reported for that particular method. Keep in mind that analyte lists may vary from laboratory to laboratory. Detection limits may also vary from lab to lab and are dependent upon the sample size, matrix, and any interferences that may be present in the sample.