ABSTRACT
There has been a growing concern in recent years because several pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are being found in the environmental matrices. These substances enter into the environment from their widespread use and uncontrolled release. Many such substances are being found at trace concentrations in water, soil, sediments, and biosolids. Several analytical methods have been developed and described in the literature to determine these substances in environmental matrices. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 1694 describes an analytical method to measure these substances in multimedia environmental samples by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with tandem MS (HPLC/MS/MS). A number of such compounds may also be analyzed by other instrumental techniques; the HPLC/MS/MS technique, however, is commonly employed because it gives lower detection limits with authentic identifications. The US EPA Method 1694 has been developed for use as required for monitoring these pollutants under the Clean Water Act of the US EPA.
