[Determination of 2,4-D content in water surfaces by gas-liquid chromatography]

Studies on surface waters were carried out for the presence of 2,4-D. The objects were selected from regions with intensive application of the herbicide. The studies were carried out by means of gas-liquid chromatography after derivatization of 2,4-D to methyl ester by diazomethane. The presence of 2,4-D in concentrations from 0,1 to 2,6 micrograms/dm3 was confirmed in an average of 68 per cent of the samples analyzed--rivers, dams, microdams and field water sources, with no data for seasonal or local oscillations. The residual quantities of 2,4-D in the surface water, confirmed in the present study, are 1000 and 100 resp. times less as compared with the literature data and the standards of the foreign sanitary legislations.