ABSTRACT
An understanding that 1,4-dioxane was a co-contaminant was not widespread; consequently, most site investigators did not direct the laboratory to analyze for 1,4-dioxane. A sensitive and reliable laboratory analytical method for 1,4-dioxane was not available until 1997, when the California Department of Health Services developed a method for low-level detection of 1,4-dioxane. This chapter provides detailed information on 1,4-dioxane analysis for the benefit of laboratory chemists. It demonstrates that in laboratory analysis of environmental samples, the chemist is faced with myriad considerations for how the many available combinations of different options in each analytical step best serve to isolate and quantify the contaminants of interest. Historically, 1,4-dioxane was often excluded from target compound lists at commercial laboratories; however, as the importance of solvent stabilizers has been better understood, 1,4-dioxane has become a more common target analyte for commercial laboratories. The compounds reported often vary from laboratory to laboratory and project to project.
