Determination of tris(4-chlorophenyl)methanol and tris(4-chlorophenyl)methane in fish, marine mammals and sediment

Tris(4-chlorophenyl)methanol (TCP) and tris(4-chlorophenyl)methane (TCPMe) were determined in aquatic organisms and sediment by a method based on Soxhlet extraction, gel permeation chromatography, fractionation over silica and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. TCPMe was identified as the 4-substituted isomer after synthesis of this compound. TCP could be determined by GC/MS with negative chemical ionistation (GC/NCI-MS) with a detection limit of 0.02 g kg −1 and a recovery of 90%. TCP concentrations in marine mammals from the North Sea and Dutch Wadden Sea ranged from 0.2 to 2 mg kg −1, and those in marine and freshwater fish samples from 0.005 to 0.4 mg kg −1 on a lipid wt basis. TCP concentrations in two Rhine delta sediment samples were 1.2 and 3.0 μg kg −1 dry wt, respectively. TCPMe concentrations, determined by GC/MS with electron impact (GC/EI-MS), were 10–50% of the TCP concentration in all samples analysed.