Biomaterial Database

Liquid chromatographic determination of total formaldehyde in drinking water. 1989

B A Tomkins, and J M McMahon, and W M Caldwell, and D L Wilson

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Analytical Chemistry Division, TN 37831-6120.

Formaldehyde is readily quantitated at micrograms/L levels in drinking water. The analyte present in 1 L water samples is derivatized with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine in a 2M acid medium and then extracted with chloroform. After the solvent is exchanged for methanol, the product is separated and quantitated using reverse-phase liquid chromatography with UV detection (365 nm). Reporting limits as low as 20 micrograms/L (corrected for laboratory blank) are routinely achieved. Formaldehyde recovery typically exceeds 90% at 20-200 micrograms/L. The method was applied to hot and cold water samples from thirty-four 1- and 2-story houses equipped with poly(acetal) plumbing elbows and tees. The drinking water samples were accompanied by sets of blanks and spikes specified by a quality assurance/quality control plan. Formaldehyde was observed above the reporting limit in 80% of hot and cold water samples from the 1-story dwellings, but in less than 50% of those from the 2-story dwellings. The results may depend on both the construction of the houses (1- vs 2-story) and the time of year the water is sampled (mid-summer).

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007202	Indicators and Reagents	Substances used for the detection, identification, analysis, etc. of chemical, biological, or pathologic processes or conditions. Indicators are substances that change in physical appearance, e.g., color, at or approaching the endpoint of a chemical titration, e.g., on the passage between acidity and alkalinity. Reagents are substances used for the detection or determination of another substance by chemical or microscopical means, especially analysis. Types of reagents are precipitants, solvents, oxidizers, reducers, fluxes, and colorimetric reagents. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed, p301, p499)	Indicator,Reagent,Reagents,Indicators,Reagents and Indicators
D010659	Phenylhydrazines	Diazo derivatives of aniline, used as a reagent for sugars, ketones, and aldehydes. (Dorland, 28th ed)
D011786	Quality Control	A system for verifying and maintaining a desired level of quality in a product or process by careful planning, use of proper equipment, continued inspection, and corrective action as required. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)	Control, Quality,Controls, Quality,Quality Controls
D002853	Chromatography, Liquid	Chromatographic techniques in which the mobile phase is a liquid.	Liquid Chromatography
D005557	Formaldehyde	A highly reactive aldehyde gas formed by oxidation or incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons. In solution, it has a wide range of uses: in the manufacture of resins and textiles, as a disinfectant, and as a laboratory fixative or preservative. Formaldehyde solution (formalin) is considered a hazardous compound, and its vapor toxic. (From Reynolds, Martindale The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 30th ed, p717)	Formalin,Formol,Methanal,Oxomethane
D013056	Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet	Determination of the spectra of ultraviolet absorption by specific molecules in gases or liquids, for example Cl2, SO2, NO2, CS2, ozone, mercury vapor, and various unsaturated compounds. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)	Ultraviolet Spectrophotometry
D014881	Water Supply	Means or process of supplying water (as for a community) usually including reservoirs, tunnels, and pipelines and often the watershed from which the water is ultimately drawn. (Webster, 3d ed)	Supplies, Water,Supply, Water,Water Supplies