Determination of trace-level haloacetic acids in drinking water by ion chromatography–inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A new method for the determination of nine haloacetic acids (HAAs) with ion chromatography (IC) coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed. With the very hydrophilic anion-exchange column and steep gradient of sodium hydroxide, the nine HAAs could be well separated in 15 min. After suppression with an ASRS suppressor that was introduced in between IC and ICP-MS, the background was much decreased, the interference caused by sodium ion present in eluent was removed, and the sensitivities of HAAs were greatly improved. The chlorinated and brominated HAAs could be detected as 35ClO and 79Br without interference of the matrix due to the elemental selective ICP-MS. The detection limits for mono-, di-, trichloroacetic acids were between 15.6 and 23.6 μg/l. For the other six bromine-containing HAAs, the detection limits were between 0.34 and 0.99 μg/l. With the pretreatment of OnGuard Ag cartridge to remove high concentration of chloride in sample, the developed method could be applied to the determination of HAAs in many drinking water matrices.