Environmental screening by capillary gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry and atomic emission spectroscopy

Capillary gas chromatography (GC) combined with mass spectrometry (MS) and atomic emission spectroscopy (AED) was utilized for a comprehensive investigation of organic micropollutants in a marine sediment. Most compounds were found and identified by GC-MS library search. The elemental information from GC-AED was utilized for confirmation purposes, for analyte characterization in cases where identification by GC-MS was impossible, and for screening on heteroatomic components. In addition, GC-AED was effectively used for the quantitative part, where the total amount of GC amenable material, classes of compounds, and individual components were determined.