Analytical methods for water disinfection byproducts in foods and beverages

• Published in: Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology 2000-11, Vol.10 (S6), p.808-815
• Main Authors: RAYMER, JAMES H, PELLIZZARI, EDO, CHILDS, BRENDA, BRIGGS, KEITH, SHOEMAKER, JODY A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetone; Analytical chemistry; Analytical methods; Beverages; Byproducts; Chemistry Techniques, Analytical - methods; Chloral; Chloral hydrate; Contamination; Disinfectants - analysis; Disinfection; Disinfection and disinfectants; Drinking water; Dry ice; Emulsions; Epidemiology; Exposure; Food; Food composition; Food Contamination; Food Handling; Haloacetic acids; Health aspects; Homogenization; Humans; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Moisture content; MTBE; Public Health; Sensitivity and Specificity; supplement; Trichloroacetic acid; United States; Volatilization; Water content; Water pollution; Water Supply
• ISSN: 1053-4245; 1559-0631; 1476-5381; 1559-064X
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.jea.7500121

The determination of exposure to drinking water disinfection byproducts (DBPs) requires an understanding of how drinking water comes into contact with human through multiple pathways. In order to facilitate the investigation of human exposure to DBPs via foods and beverages, analytical method development efforts were initiated for haloacetonitriles, haloketones, chloropicrin, and the haloacetic acids (HAAs) in these matrices. The recoveries of the target analytes were investigated from composite foods and beverages. Individual foods and beverages used to investigate the general applicability of the developed methods were selected for testing based on their water content and frequency of consumption. The haloacetonitriles, the haloketones, and chloral hydrate were generally well recovered (70–130%), except for bromochloroacetonitrile (64%) and dibromoacetonitrile (55%), from foods spiked after homogenization and following extraction with methyl- t -butyl ether (MTBE); the addition of acetone was found to be necessary to improve recoveries from beverages. The process of homogenization resulted in decreased recoveries for the more volatile analytes despite the presence of dry ice. The HAAs were generally well recovered (70–130%), except for trichloroacetic acid (58%) and tribromoacetic acid (132%), from foods but low recoveries and emulsion formation were experienced with some beverages. With both groups of analytes, certain matrices were more problematic (as measured by volatility losses, emulsion formation) than others with regard to processing and analyte recovery.