POLAR ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN THE ELBE RIVER - LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHIC MASS-SPECTROMETRIC AND FLOW-INJECTION ANALYSIS MASS-SPECTROMETRIC ANALYSES DEMONSTRATING CHANGES IN QUALITY AND CONCENTRATION DURING THE UNIFICATION PROCESS IN GERMANY

During the unification process of the two German states from 1989 to 1994, water extracts from the Elbe river were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with ultraviolet (UV) and/or mass spectrometric detection (MS) in order to monitor the pollutants in one of the most contaminated European rivers. After column chromatography (LC) or flow-injection analysis (FIA) bypassing the analytical column, ionization was performed by a thermospray interface (TSP). Semiquantitative estimations of the pollution of the Elbe were made form the total-ion current traces (TIG) of the extracts. Determination of the total dissolved organic carbon (DOG) indicated a reduction of more than 55% of pollutants in the water phase. The pollutants were identified by tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS), generating daughter-ion spectra by collision-induced dissociation (CID) using either column chromatography or direct mixture analysis. Compound-specific analyses indicated a reduction in the amount of pollutants as well as a change in their composition. This could be explained by reduced industrial production and by intensified construction of biological sewage treatment plants.