The herbicide glyphosate and its main metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) are generally studied in environmental samples in the investigation of contamination of soil, plants, water and food. Many analytical methods are based on liquid chromatography or high-performance liquid chromatography, with pre-column or post-column derivatization; in addition, the chromatograph can be coupled to mass spectrometers for detection and quantification. Gas chromatography and spectroscopic and electrochemical methods have also been used. In this work, a simple low-cost method is presented for the analysis of water intended for human consumption with the quantification not only of glyphosate and AMPA, but also of other ions of interest to public health (fluoride, chlorite, bromate, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, sulfate and phosphate). Based on ion chromatography with conductivity detection (chemical suppression of eluent conductivity), the key point in this method is the use of gradient elution with two eluents of different pH and ionic strength, not requiring derivatization. There is no interference from the other ions at higher concentrations. The detection limits obtained for glyphosate and AMPA were 15 μg L-1 and 80 μg L-1, respectively. As the method allows the analysis of a large number of samples, it has been successfully applied to monitoring the quality of tap water in 89 municipalities in the northeast region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil.
Keywords: AMPA; Drinking Water; Glyphosate; Ion Chromatography; Public Health; Tap Water.
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