Determination of six iodotrihalomethanes in drinking water in Korea

Bomi Woo; Ju-Hyun Park; Seungki Kim; Jeongae Lee; Jong-Ho Choi; Heesoo Pyo

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.329

Determination of six iodotrihalomethanes in drinking water in Korea

Sci Total Environ. 2018 Nov 1:640-641:581-590. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.329. Epub 2018 Jun 2.

Authors

Bomi Woo¹, Ju-Hyun Park², Seungki Kim³, Jeongae Lee³, Jong-Ho Choi⁴, Heesoo Pyo⁵

Affiliations

¹ Molecular Recognition Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Hwarangno 14-gil 5, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea; Department of Chemistry, Korea University, 145, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
² National Institute Of Environmental Research, Water Supply and Sewerage Research Division, Hwangyong-ro 42, Seogu, Incheon 22689, Republic of Korea.
³ Molecular Recognition Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Hwarangno 14-gil 5, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Korea University, 145, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Molecular Recognition Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Hwarangno 14-gil 5, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: phs3692@kist.re.kr.

PMID: 29870935
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.329

Abstract

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are chemicals regulated by Environmental Protection Agency's first drinking water regulation issued after the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Among THMs, iodotrihalomethanes (I-THMs) are produced by treating water containing iodides ion with chlorine or ozone. I-THMs are more carcinogenic and biotoxic than chlorinated or brominated THMs. The purpose of this study was to analyze of I-THMs in drinking water using the liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method with various extraction solvents. The calibration curves ranged from 0.01 to 20 ng/mL and the correlation coefficient showed a good linearity of 0.99 or more. The method detection limit ranged from 0.01 to 0.10 ng/mL. The accuracy of the LLE method ranged from 99.43 to 112.40%, and its precision ranged from 1.10 to 10.36%. Good recoveries (71.35-118.60%) were obtained for spiked drinking water samples, demonstrating that the LLE method is suitable for the analysis of drinking water samples. Dichloroiodomethane, bromochloroiodomethane, and dibromoiodomethane were identified in drinking water collected from 70 places of water purification plants in Korea. The samples were classified by disinfection systems, regions, seasons, and water sources. The concentration of I-THMs in pre-/postchlorination facilities owing to excess chlorine usage was higher than in ozonization/postchlorination facilities. Moreover, the concentrations of I-THMs were high in the coastal region, because of the large amount of halide ions from the sea. There was no seasonal difference; however, the concentration of I-THMs in pre-/postchlorination facilities increased in spring and summer. The concentration of I-THMs in water sources was high in samples from the Geum River and the Yeongsan and Sumjin River. The concentration and detection frequency of I-THMs in Han River and Nakdong River were high in the coastal region, because of numerous pre-/postchlorination facilities and the abundance of halide ions from the ocean.

Keywords: Drinking water; GC–MS; Iodotrihalomethanes; Liquid-liquid extraction.