Disinfection by-products in drinking water: new detector may meet need for monitoring and detection of broader range of DBP classes, Sweden

The presence of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water is an emerging health concern.
DBPs come in many classes and are chemically diverse, making them challenging to monitor. Swedish researchers have evaluated a new method for the simultaneous determination of a broader range of DBPs than typically possible using other available techniques. The method uses gas chromatography (a laboratory technique that separates and analyses vaporisable compounds in a mixture), together with a halogen-specific detector (XSD). Having been
tested in real water samples from two municipal waterworks in Sweden, the method has been optimised for the simultaneous determination of a wide range of neutral DBPs.