Determination of a variety of chemical classes of pesticides in surface and ground waters by off-line solid-phase extraction, gas chromatography with electron-capture and nitrogen-phosphorus detection, and high-performance liquid chromatography with post-column derivatization and fluorescence detection.

Octadecyl (C18)-bonded porous silica was evaluated for the extraction of triazines, organochlorine, carbamates and acidic pesticides from surface and ground water. Gas chromatography with selected detection methods (electron-capture detection, nitrogen-phosphorus detection, mass spectrometry) and liquid chromatography-post-column derivatization fluorescence detection was employed for the determination of 32 pesticides. Recoveries varied from 52 to 102%. The recoveries of triazines obtained using C18 extraction cartridges and conventional liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) are compared. The limit of detection for seventeen organochlorine compounds was better than 0.003 microgram/l and the limit of detection for other 15 analytes was better than 0.06 microgram/l. The proposed analytical methodology was applied to analyze pesticides in surface and ground-water samples of the Lassithi Plateau, Crete, Greece.