Determination of trace triazine and chloroacetamide herbicides in tile-fed drainage ditch water using solid-phase microextraction coupled with GC–MS

Solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPME–GC–MS) was used to analyze two triazine (atrazine and simazine) and three chloroacetamide herbicides (acetochlor, alachlor, and metolachlor) in water samples from a midwest US agricultural drainage ditch for two growing seasons. The effects of salt concentration, sample volume, extraction time, and injection time on extraction efficiency using a 100-μm polydimethylsiloxane-coated fiber were investigated. By optimizing these parameters, ditch water detection limits of 0.5 μg L−1 simazine and 0.25 μg L−1 atrazine, acetochlor, alachlor, and metolachlor were achieved. The optimum salt concentration was found to be 83% NaCl, while sample volume (10 or 20 mL) negligibly affected analyte peak areas. The optimum extraction time was 40 min, and the optimum injection time was 15 min. Results indicated that atrazine levels in the ditch water exceeded the US maximum contaminant level for drinking water 12% of the time, and atrazine was the most frequently detected among studied analytes.