Samples including organotin contaminated lard, urine, blood, and main organs of the poisoned bodies were collected in the incident which took place in Longnan and Dingnan counties, Jiangxi Province, China around the new year' s day of 1999. The organotin compounds in these samples were identified and determined by gas chromatography-flame photometric detector (GC-FPD), gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Experiments confirmed that tri-and dimethyltin are the main components that caused the poisoning accident. Monomethyltin, dioctyltin and inorganic tin were also found in several samples.
Keywords: organotin, pentylation, GC-FPD, GC-MS, ICP-MS.The extensive use of butyltin compounds as antifouling paint has seriously polluted the harbor and estuary water, which has caused much attention in the world. But the environmental contamination resulting from industrial and agricultural usage of organotins has not been taken into serious account yet. Around the new year' s day of 1999, in Longnan and Dingnan counties, Jiangxi Province, more than 1 000 people were seriously poisoned by the industrial lard contaminated with organotin. Over 100 people were hospitalized and three of them died. In this paper, gas chromatography coupled with flame photometric detector using quartz surface-induced luminescence (GC-FPD), gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) were used for analyzing the samples collected from Longnan and Dingnan counties. These samples included the contaminated lard, the urine and blood of the patients and the organs of the dead bodies. Experiments confirmed that di-and trimethyltin are the main components causing this accident. Monomethyltin, dioctyltin, inorganic tin and several trace metal elements were also detected in some samples as well. To our knowledge, this is the first case of organotin compounds especially methyltin species found in human organs.
Experimental
ReagentsTrimethyltin chloride (TMT, 98%), dimethyltin chloride (DMT, 97%) and monomethyltin (MMT, 97%) were obtained from Aldrich Chem. Co. (USA). Suitable amount of the compound 532 SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series B) Vol. 43 was directly weighed and dissolved in methanol to form a concentration of 1 mg/mL (as Sn), which was used as the stock solution and stored in refrigerator maintained at 4 . Working standard solution (10 g/mL) was prepared by diluting the stock solution with cyclohexane.The Sn (IV) stock solution was obtained by dissolving metal Sn in 6 mol/L HCl solution, and then diluting to 4 mg (Sn)/mL with methanol. Working solution (5 g/mL) was obtained by diluting the stock solution with cyclohexane-acetone (1 1).Dioctyltin oxide (DOT, pure) was bought from M&T Chemical Inc. (USA). Because DOT is difficult to dissolve in common organic solvents, the oxide was weighed and dissolved in 12 mol/L HCl in a 40 water bath. When the white solid completely dissolved, the solution was diluted with methanol to...