ABSTRACT
The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination of organic micropollutants, such as pesticides and phenolic compounds, is of environmental concern because they are toxic and persistent. Organic micropollutants can suffer biotic and abiotic degradation [1], with the subsequent formation of transformation products (TPs) that are more toxic than their parent compounds [2,3]. Such are the oxo derivatives and sulfoxides. Also chloro-and nitrophenols are the main degradation products of many chlorinated phenoxyacid herbicides and organophosphorus pesticides, respectively [4,5]. Several organic micropollutants were included in different water monitoring programs, such as the National Pesticide Survey (NPS) and the Commission of the European Communities (CEC). The EEC Directive on the Quality of Water Intended for Human Consumption (CEC 76/464/EEC) has included different pesticides and phenolic compounds (e.g., parathion, methyl-azinphos, fenitrothion, malathion, pentachlorophenol, and 2,4-dinitrophenol) to be monitored in the environment and has already elucidated the need for analyzing organic micropollutants and TPs at levels less than 0.1 p,g L~' [6]. Moreover, the NPS has published a list that includes all pesticides and their TPs that have been detected in groundwater [7,8]. Therefore, the achievement of an analytical method that accomplishes such needs is comprehensive.
