Chlorophenols (2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,5-dichlorophenol, 2,6-dichlorophenol, 2,3,4-trichlorophenol, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol)
The gas chromatog. method with mass selective detection described here permits the detn. of the chlorinated phenols 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,5-dichlorophenol, 2,6-dichlorophenol, 2,3,4-, 2,4,5-, and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol as well as 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol in the urine of people who are exposed to chlorophenols or the precursors of these substances at the workplace or in the environment. The acidified urine samples together with 2,6-dibromophenol, which serves as an internal std., are subjected to steam distn. The chlorophenols are hydrolyzed in this manner, and they are simultaneously sepd. from the org. matrix. The distillate is purified and concd. on a reversed-phase column (RP18). After elution, the chlorophenols and the internal std. are converted to their derivs. using diazomethane. The resulting Me ethers are sepd. by capillary gas chromatog. and detected by means of mass spectrometry. To obtain calibration curves, pooled urine is spiked with known concns. of chlorophenols, processed in the same manner as the samples, and analyzed.
