Determination of chlorinated toluenes in raw and treated water samples from the Llobregat river by closed loop stripping analysis and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry detection

A study of the occurrence of chlorinated toluenes in Llobregat river (NE Spain) has been carried out. These compounds are currently being used in local textile industries as dye carriers and have replaced the common trichlorobenzene mixtures. Closed loop stripping analysis (CLSA), routinely used to monitor the quality of river water for a broad range of volatile compounds, has been employed as an analytical tool to determine them at ng/L levels in wastewater and textile industry effluents and also in raw and treated water from two drinking water treatment plants situated in the river course. The CLSA extracts were analyzed by HRGC/MS. Ring halogenated dichloro- and, to a lesser extent, mono- and trichlorotoluenes have been identified. These compounds have not been reported to our knowledge as common water pollutants.