Analysis of chlorinated 1,3-butadienes by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography mass spectrometry

Hexachloro-1,3-butadiene, as well as some of its dechlorinated degradation products, is known to be an antifungal agent and a by-product of the manufacture of chlorinated hydrocarbons. We analysed 1,1,4,4-tetrachloro-1,3-butadiene (TCBD), 1,1,2,4,4-pentachloro-1,3-butadiene (1,1,2,4,4-PCBD), cis-1,1,2,3,4-pentachloro-1,3-butadiene (cis-1,1,2,3,4-PCBD) and hexachloro-1,3-butadiene (HCBD) in water by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We optimised the analytical technique, considering the efficiency of the desorption and extraction under different experimental conditions. The linearity and the sensitivity was tested. The lower concentrations detected were 25-50 ng/l and the linearity of the absorption was verified in the range 0.1-200 mu g/l. The method has been applied to polluted ground-water samples.