Gas-liquid chromatographic determination of 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol in natural waters.

A procedure for the analysis of 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) in natural waters is described. The lampricide is extracted from acidified water samples on the macroreticular resin XAD-7 and eluted from the column with ethyl ether. The ether extract is dried, concentrated, and partitioned with potassium carbonate. TFM is acetylated in the aqueous alkaline solution and the acetate derivative is extracted into benzene for analysis by electron capture gas-liquid chromatography. Recoveries of TFM from natural waters exceeded 90% and as little as 0.01 mug TFM can be quantitated in a 1 L sample.