Occurrence of twenty-six endocrine-disrupting compounds in environmental water samples from Catalonia, Spain

We monitored 26 compounds known or suspected to be endocrine disruptors in several environmental water samples from a river, the sea, and an irrigation canal. Because of the various chemical properties of the compounds monitored, analyses were carried out by using two different methods. One method is based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) on-line coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry through an on-column interface. Another is based on high-performance liquid chromatography-(electrospray) mass spectrometry working in negative ionization mode and using off-line SPE. The limits of detection for the two methods were at levels of low microg/L. Phthalates and bis-(2-ethylhexyl) adipate were found at levels between 0.05 and 13 microg/L in all of the water samples analyzed. Some pesticides, alkylphenols, and estrogens were determined in a few samples at levels below 0.1 microg/L.