This report presents precision and accuracy data for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the nanogram-per-liter range, including aromatic hydrocarbons, reformulated fuel components, and halogenated hydrocarbons using purge and trap capillary-column gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. One-hundred-four VOCs were initially tested. Of these, 86 are suitable for determination by this method. Selected data are provided for the 18 VOCs that were not included. This method also allows for the reporting of semiquantitative results for tentatively identified VOCs not included in the list of method compounds. Method detection limits, method performance data, preservation study results, and blank results are presented.The authors describe a procedure for reporting low-concentration detections at less than the reporting limit. The nondetection value (NDV) is introduced as a statistically defined reporting limit designed to limit false positives and false negatives to less than 1 percent. Nondetections of method compounds are reported as "less than NDV." Positive detections measured at less than NDV are reported as estimated concentrations to alert the data user to decreased confidence in accurate quantitation. Instructions are provided for analysts to report data at less than the reporting limits. This method can support the use of either method reporting limits that censor detections at lower concentrations or the use of NDVs as reporting limits. The data-reporting strategy for providing analytical results at less than the reporting limit is a result of the increased need to identify the presence or absence of environmental contaminants in water samples at increasingly lower concentrations.Long-term method detection limits (LTMDLs) for 86 selected compounds range from 0.013 to 2.452 micrograms per liter (ug/L) and differ from standard method detection limits (MDLs) in that the LTMDLs include the long-term variance of multiple instruments, multiple operators, and multiple calibrations over a longer time. For these reasons, LTMDLs are expected to be slightly higher than standard MDLs. Recoveries for all of the VOCs tested ranged from 36 (tert-butyl formate) to 155 percent (pentachlorobenzene). The majority of the compounds ranged from 85 to 115 percent recovery and had less than 5 percent relative standard deviation for concentrations spiked between 1 to 500 (o,g/L in volatile blank-, surface-, and ground-water samples. Recoveries of 60 set spikes at low concentrations ranged from 70 to 114 percent (1,2,3trimethylbenzene and acetone). Recovery data were collected over 6 months with multiple instruments, operators, and calibrations.In this method, volatile organic compounds are extracted from a water sample by actively purging with helium. The VOCs are collected onto a sorbent trap, thermally desorbed, separated by a Megabore gas chromatographic capillary column, and finally determined by a full-scan quadrupole mass spectrometer. Compound identification is confirmed by the gas chromatographic retention time and by the resulta...
This Fact Sheet presents data for analysis ofnanogram-per-liter concentrations of methyl ten-butyl ether (MTBE) and three other ether gasoline oxygenates, including methyl tert-pentyl ether (TAME), diisopropyl ether (DIPE), and ethyl ten-butyl ether (ETBE), bypurgeand-trap capillary-column gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Long-term method detection levels (LT-MDLs)for MTBE, TAME, DIPE, and ETBE ranged from 15 to 83 nanogramsper liter (0.015 to 0.083 microgram per liter). Nanogram-per-liter-concentration detections are reported if all of the identification criteria are met, whereas previous methods censored detections at a predetermined method reporting level. The reporting level for this method is defined as two times the LT-MDL, does not censor detections at less than this concentration, and is referred to as the nondetection value (NDV). Bias and variability data from multiple analyses, analysts, and instruments over a 60-day period show the oxygenate recoveries ranging from 100 to 109 percent, with 6 to 8 percent relative standard deviation. MTBE, TAME, DIPE, and ETBE were not detected in the analysis of 225 laboratory reagent blanks from January to December 1997. A preservation study in ground water and surface water indicates that all the oxygenates are stable atpH 2 for up to 216 days, with recoveries ranging from 94 to 115 percent on day 216, and relative standard deviations ranging from 5 to 9 percent for the duration of the study. A full description of this purge-and-trap method is available in Connor and others (1998).
The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to assess the quantity and quality of the earth resources of the Nation and to provide information that will assist resource managers and policymakers at Federal, State, and local levels in making sound decisions. Assessment of water-quality conditions and trends is an important part of this overall mission. One of the greatest challenges faced by waterresources scientists is acquiring reliable information that will guide the use and protection of the Nation's water resources. That challenge is being addressed by Federal, State, interstate, and local water-resource agencies and by many academic institutions. These organizations are collecting water-quality data for a host of purposes that include: compliance with permits and water-supply standards; development of remediation plans for a specific contamination problem; operational decisions on industrial, wastewater, or watersupply facilities; and research on factors that affect water quality. An additional need for water-quality information is to provide a basis on which regional and national-level policy decisions can be based. Wise decisions must be based on sound information. As a society we need to know whether certain types of water-quality problems are isolated or ubiquitous, whether there are significant differences in conditions among regions, whether the conditions are changing over time, and why these conditions change from place to place and over time. The information can be used to help determine the efficacy of existing waterquality policies and to help analysts determine the need for and likely consequences of new policies. To address these needs, the Congress appropriated funds in 1986 for the USGS to begin a pilot program in seven project areas to develop and refine the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. In 1991, the USGS began full implementation of the program. The NAWQA Program builds upon an existing base of water-quality studies of the USGS, as well as those of other Federal, State, and local agencies. The objectives of the NAWQA Program are to: Describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streams, rivers, and aquifers. Describe how water quality is changing over time. Improve understanding of the primary natural and human factors that affect water-quality conditions. This information will help support the development and evaluation of management, regulatory, and monitoring decisions by other Federal, State, and local agencies to protect, use, and enhance water resources. The goals of the NAWQA Program are being achieved through ongoing and proposed investigations of 59 of the Nation's most important river basins and aquifer systems, which are referred to as Study Units. These Study Units are distributed throughout the Nation and cover a diversity of hydrogeologic settings. More than two-thirds of the Nation's freshwater use occurs within the 59 Study Units and more than two-thirds of the people served by public watersupply systems liv...
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