Characterization of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Suspended Sediments by Thermal Desorption Coupled to GCxGC-TOFMS

The Niagara River is the primary inflow to Lake Ontario, connecting the lower Great Lakes, and historically receives significant inputs of chemical contaminants from Niagara Falls, NY; i.e., the Love Canal dumpsite. Environment Canada has been monitoring the occurrence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), entering Lake Ontario via the Niagara River since 1984, upstream at Fort Erie and downstream at Niagara-on-the-Lake. 21 PAHs are monitored routinely, including two alkyl PAHs, as wellas several organochlorinated compounds, PCBs, and industrialbyproducts. The objectives of this study were: (1) to screen for other POPs not monitored routinely, and (2) to minimize the need for wet chemistry clean-up prior to instrumental analysis.