Phthalates in the Charles and the Merrimack rivers.

The identification and quantification of individual organic compounds in polluted water has been recognized as a prerequisite to rational pollution abatement planning (1). In the past, this information has been difficult to obtain primarily due to the lack of suitable analytical methods. The last several years, however, have seen the development of powerful organic analytical techniques which are suitable for the complex mixtures that are to be expected from polluted water. Premier among these methods is computerized combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). We have applied this technique, as well as high-pressure liquid chromatography (LC), to a study of the lipophilic organic compounds present in the Charles and Merrimack rivers. The lipophilic organic compounds were extracted from river water with methylene chloride. The solvent layer was separated and evaporated under reduced pressure. This extract was then analyzed by GC/MS. Details of the sampling and extraction procedure can be found elsewhere (2). A procedural blank showed only very small amounts of material and was judged acceptable. The mass spectral data were interpreted with various computer-assisted techniques (3-5). Mass chromatograms (plots of the