Determination of trace amounts of siloxanes in water, sediments and fish tissues by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry.

A simple and rapid method is described for the separation and determination of organosilicones in water, sediment and samples of fish tissues, using inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry. Organosilicone extract with petroleum ether is evaporated to dryness. The damp residue is dissolved in methyl isobutyl ketone, aspirated into the plasma. Optimisation of gas (plasma support, coolant and carrier) flow-rates and plasma height are discussed. Detection limit (2 delta) is 0.01 microgram ml-1 for organosilicone and is adequate for environmental samples. Precision of the proposed method is 4.7% for river water, 10.8% for river sediment, 1.2% for sewage sludge and 13.3% for fish tissue.