2020 Volume 33 Issue 5 Pages 114-125
In this study, a pre-screening method of Japanese PRTR chemicals was developed for wastewater samples by target-screening with accurate mass spectrometry utilizing LC-ESI-QToF-MS to judge the presence/absence followed by a quantification step. As a first step, a database of PRTR chemicals for target screening was developed by an original procedure: Each of obtained standard solutions was analyzed at three concentration levels to assist the linkage of each precursor ion and corresponding fragment ions. Fragment ions were recorded to database when the intensities of spectra at three concentrations were plotted linearly (r2＞0.90) and also when the proposed compositional formula was consistent with the precursor ion. Finally, 28 PRTR chemicals were registered by the developed procedure. Secondly, 53 PRTR chemicals were cited from existing research (MassBank Europe etc.), resulted in registering a total of 81 PRTR chemicals to a database (PRTR-DB). By using the developed PRTR-DB, 27 PRTR chemicals were detected in wastewater influents (n＝11) and 36 in effluents (n＝11). As a result of the quantification step, 8 PRTR chemicals were determined in wastewater. Through this survey, it was clarified that the species and concentration of the determined PRTR chemicals vary greatly among surveyed treatment facilities. Pre-screening was effective for unknown samples.
