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R9 Laboratory SOP 315
Semi-Volatile Orgaincs Analysis
Summary
This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) describes the procedures used for the analysis of selected semivolatile organic compounds by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) in extracts prepared from solid or liquid samples by EPA SW-846 extraction and cleanup methods appropriate to the analytes of interest. This SOP is based on procedures contained in EPA Method SW-846 8270.
The applicability of these procedures to specific project data quality objectives must be assessed on a case by case basis. The QC criteria specified in the procedures do not meet compliance criteria for either drinking water or NPDES monitoring projects.
Sample extracts, which have been fortified with surrogate analytes and internal standards, are injected into a gas chromatograph with a mass selective detector (MS). Analytes are separated in the narrow-bore fused-silica capillary gas chromatographic column during temperature programming, then detected by the MS.
Target semivolatile organic compounds are identified in the sample extract by comparing the mass spectra and GC retention times of the target analytes to the mass spectra and retention times of standards analyzed under the same conditions as samples. A response factor is established for each target and surrogate compound during the initial calibration by comparing the MS response of the quantitation ion produced by the target and surrogate compounds to the MS response for the quantitation ion produced by the associated internal standard. Each target analyte and surrogate is quantitated using an internal standard method of calculation using the average response factors from the initial calibration.
Non-target compounds are identified by comparing the resulting mass spectra of the non- target compound to the mass spectra contained in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Library in the MS database. An estimated quantitation is performed for the non-target compounds by comparing the total MS response to the nearest internal standard total MS response, assuming a 1:1 response factor.