Organic substances in potable water and in its precursor. I. Methods for their determination by gas-liquid chromatography.

Abstract Organic substances are liberated from potable water and transferred to a very small amount of charcoal in a hermetically closed circuit system, in which the carrier may be an inert gas or water vapour (yielding complementary results). The organic substances are dissolved from the charcoal, separated by capillary gas-liquid chromatography and identified by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. In unpolluted water, hundreds of substances up to C 24 are detected at concentrations down to 1 in 10 13 (w/w). Equipment and methods are discussed in detail.