Sulfuric acid cleanup and KOH-ethanol treatment for confirmation of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls: application to wastewater samples.

The efficacy of sulfuric acid cleanup and KOH-ethanol hydrolysis confirmation was studied for 22 organochlorine pesticides and 2 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Mean recoveries for different treatment times are given. The method was applied to analysis of several wastewater samples by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Organochlorine compounds were extracted by using separatory funnels and 15% diethyl ether in hexane as extractant. All the compounds studied could be analyzed except trifluralin, dichloran, dieldrin, and endrin, which were destroyed after treatment with concentrated H2SO4. The pesticides found most commonly in the samples analyzed were fenson, tetradifon, lindane, methoxychlor, and dicofol.