Application of the new C₁₈ Speedisks™ to the analysis of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in water and effluent samples

A recently introduced disk for solid-phase extraction of pollutants from water (C₁₈ Speedisk) has been tested for the analysis of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and dibenzofurans (PCDF). The complete procedure of analysis has been validated with spiked deionized water. The accuracy, expressed as recovery for the sum of 2,3,7,8-substituted congeners, is 92% and the precision, expressed as the RSD of reproducibility, is 5.8%. The limit of detection (LOD), using 21 of water, is 4.2 pg/1 (0.6 pg ITEQ/1) for the sum of 2,3,7,8-substituted congeners. Actually, the C₁₈ Speedisks have substituted the use of other C₁₈ membrane disks in our laboratory because they allow the fast and efficient analysis of samples with high content of suspended material and reduce the time of elution of free-particulate samples. These disks have been successfully applied to the analysis of water from different sources and with very different physical and chemical characteristics: seawater, rain water, an industrial effluent, a landfill leachate and the inlet and chlorinated and non-chlorinated outlet water from a wastewater treatment plant.