SURVEY OF VOLATILE HALOGENATED ORGANICS (VHO) IN ITALY - LEVELS OF VHO IN DRINKING WATERS, SURFACE WATERS AND SWIMMING POOLS

A survey undertaken in Italy (Emilia-Romagna region) has shown that Volatile Halogenated Organics (VHO) are present in many water samples; analysis has been performed by static head-space gas chromatographic technique. In drinking water samples low levels of pollution have become evident before any treatment, while after chlorination with sodium hypochlorite, or chlorine as a gas, VHO have appeared, almost exclusively as trihalomethanes (THM). Surface water samples have been collected every other month in one year, and have shown different levels of contamination. Swimming pool samples have shown the high levels of contamination, mainly due to THM, as a consequence of chlorination with sodium hypochlorite. As a matter of fact, it has become evident that VHO pollution is wide-spread in every kind of water.