The occurrence of chlorophenols, chlorocatechols and chlorinated methoxyphenols in drinking water of the largest cities in Poland

The purpose of this work was to determine the occurrence of phenol, chlorophenols, chlorocatechols and chlorinated methoxyphenols in the drinking water of the Polish cities of Łódź (Lodz), Warszawa (Warsaw), Poznań and Wrocław. The compounds were adsorbed on octadecyl (C18) layer in a Baker-Separex system and eluted with methylene chloride, then analyzed using the methods of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. In samples, chlorophenols, 4-chlorocatechol, chloroguaiacols, chlorosyringols and 5,6- dichlorovaniline were detected. Higher concentrations and number of chlorophenols and their chlorinated derivatives were noted in summer. Among the most toxic compounds, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol in drinking water of Warszawa (summer and winter) and Łódź (winter) and tetrachlorophenol in water of Wrocław (summer) were noted. Their concentrations were above the admissible standards of the EU and the US EPA. In some cases the concentrations of chloroguaiacols and 5,6-dichlorovanillin also were significant.