Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2002NJ4B

CONTINUOUS, ON-LINE MONITORING OF HALOACETIC ACIDS IN WATER USING ANALYTICAL MEMBRANE EXTRACTION

Institute: New Jersey
Year Established: 2002 Start Date: 2002-03-01 End Date: 2003-03-01
Total Federal Funds: $4,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $24,118

Principal Investigators: Dawen Kou, Somenath Mitra

Project Summary: Halogenated compounds generated by the reaction of chlorine with Natural Organic Matter in source water have been identified in chlorinated drinking water as toxic disinfection by-products (DBPs). Health and environmental effects of haloacetic acids (HAAs) have been increasingly recognized; HAAs are toxic to humans, plants, and particularly to algae, and some are classified as carcinogens or potential carcinogens. All the existing methods for HAA analysis are only suitable for laboratory analysis of discrete samples; no instrument is available for on-line, continuous monitoring and some of the HAAs are subject to degradation and should be analyzed as quickly as possible. On-line monitoring can provide real-time data and eliminate errors due to analyte loss and cross-contamination during sampling, sample transport, and storage. This is especially important given the instability of some HAAs. The objective of this study is to develop methods/instrumentation for automated, on-line analysis of haloacetic acids in drinking water, water resources, and wastewater, with significant saving in time, labor and money. The instruments will able to carry out continuous, real-time monitoring with high selectivity and sensitivity, and minimize the use of toxic solvents in sample preparation.