Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2016DC179B

Analysis of perchlorate in drinking water, surface water by AxION Direct sample analysis (DSA) /Time of flight (TOF) Mass Spectrometer

Institute: District of Columbia
Year Established: 2016 Start Date: 2016-03-01 End Date: 2017-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $10,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $4,800

Principal Investigators: Sebhat Tefera, Yacov Assa

Project Summary: Perchlorate is both a naturally occurring and man-made chemical that is used to produce rocket fuel, fireworks, flares and explosives. Perchlorate can also be present in bleach and in some fertilizers. Perchlorate may have adverse health effects as research indicates that this contaminant can disrupt the thyroid’s ability to produce hormones needed for normal growth and development. The PerkinElmer AxION DSA system is a technological breakthrough that eliminates the need for front-end gas or liquid chromatography separation, allowing samples to be directly ionized at the entrance to a mass spectrometer. This system allows for the direct analysis of liquid, solid and gas samples. AxION DSA is the ultimate tool for streamlining and simplifying laboratory workflows while providing outstanding resolution, sensitivity, and mass accuracy. Other possibilities to analyze the target perchlorate anion are Ion Chromatography mostly coupled to conductivity detection, photometry, potentiometric, electrophoresis, atomic absorption spectrometry, and Raman spectrometry. In the last few years, scientist tended to develop methods including ion chromatography or liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry detection. Up to now, the predominant subject of perchlorate analysis has been drinking water, soil and plants. To our knowledge, fewer investigations have been made in determining perchlorate in drinking water, surface water by AxION Direct sample analysis (DSA) /Time of flight (TOF) Mass Spectrometer. This allows for rapid and greatly simplified analysis, helping lead to faster decisions. With the AxION DSA system, one can cut traditional analysis time into seconds without compromising results. There are no analytical data available the presence of perchlorate in water, soil, or plant in DC area. The environmental contaminant perchlorate was frequently detected in conventionally and organically grown fruit and vegetable samples from the local market in other areas (Seyfferth & Parker, 2006; Khwaja, 2005). It will be in the best interest of the DC residence to find out the presence or absence of perchlorate in the local water sources. If perchlorate is found by DSA screening then can be quantified by TOFM to EPA limit of quantification in parts per billion. The samples will be collected from tap water and surface water from public and private residences of the District of Columbia.