Simultaneous Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Organochlorine Pesticides in River Sediments by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

A method for simultaneous determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 19 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in river sediments by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) was established. The parameters of ASE, such as type of extraction solvent, extraction temperature and time, the collection time for gel permeation chromatograph, as well as the selection of elution agents and elution parameters in solid phase extraction (SPE) were optimized. The detection limits for 16 PAHs ranged from 0.15 to 0.59 ng/g (dry weight), and the recoveries for spiked samples were between 82% and 102% with precision of 1.1%~4.5% RSD (n=5). The detection limits for 19 OCPs ranged from 0.14~2.23 ng/g (dry weight), and the recoveries for spiked samples were between 71% and 108% with precision of 1.0%~4.5% RSD (n=5). The method has been applied to the determination of 16 PAHs and 19 OCPs in sediment samples with satisfactory results.