GC/MS Method for Determination of Pesticides in the Atmosphere Collected by Activated Carbon Fiber Filter

• Published in: Journal of Environmental Chemistry Vol. 11; no. 3; pp. 477 - 489
• Main Authors: MUKAI, Hiroyuki, MORIYAMA, Noboru, MURAYAMA, Hitoshi, MITOBE, Hideko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Society for Environmental Chemistry 2001
• Subjects: activated carbon fiber filter; atmosphere; GC/MS; monitoring; pesticide
• ISSN: 0917-2408; 1882-5818; 1882-5818
• DOI: 10.5985/jec.11.477

A method for simultaneous analysis of pesticides in the atmosphere by means of GC/MS using activated carbon fiber filter paper was examined. The target compounds were 43 pesticides including aerially applied ones. Air was passed at a flow of 10l·miri-1 through two activated carbon fiber filter papers with a diameter of 47 mm (Toyobo KF Paper P-175) for 7 days. Each sampled filter was extracted ultrasonically with 10 ml of toluene/ethanol (4: 1) for 15 min followed by centrifugation at 3000 rpm for 15 min. The extraction was repeated 3 times. The extracted solution was concentrated to almost dryness, and 1 ml of acetone was added. This acetone solution was analyzed quantitatively with GC/MS. The detection limit for this method was from 0.0001 μg·m-3 to 0.002 μg·m-3. In the recovery test, recovery rates were 70-109 % for 36 pesticides. Using this method, variation of pesticides in the atmosphere was monitored in a rural area in Niigata Prefecture. Twenty-two pesticides were detected in the atmosphere at 0.0001 -0.041 μg·m-3 in median. This method has been successfully used for the monitoring of pesticides in the atmosphere.