Chromatographic Methods for the Determination of a Broad Spectrum of UV Filters in Swimming Pool Water

This paper describes an analytical approach based on Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) followed by analysis using liquid and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry detectors for a simultaneous determination of 18 organic UV filters from water samples. Extraction method parameters were optimized: 250 ml of water sample loaded on Chromo-Bond C18 cartridges after adjustment to pH 4 and then eluted with acetonitrile. The mobile phase, the parameters of the mass spectrometer, as well as those of the ionization source were tested to enhance detection sensitivity. During method validation, the extracted target compounds showed good recoveries (> 68%) with acceptable values in terms of repeatability (CV r ) and reproducibility (CV R ), that were lower than 20%. The validated method was applied to different real water samples collected from different swimming pools located in Lebanon where nine UV filters among the eighteen targets compounds were detected at concentrations up to 1500 µg/L in some samples. Padimate-O and Octocrylene were detected frequently. This study represents the first available data on the occurrence of UV filter residues in swimming pool in Lebanon opening hence future perspectives to evaluate their degradation by-products and their toxicity on human health and marine ecosystem.