Guidelines for alkylphenols estimation as alkylphenol polyethoxylates pollution indicator in wastewater treatment plant effluents

A solid-phase microextraction coupled with a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method has been developed for the estimation of technical nonylphenol in the presence of other endocrine disruptors, belonging to different chemical families. The profile of the technical nonylphenol found in real samples was tested, and, given that it was similar to that provided for the standard used, reliable results were obtainable. Endocrine disruptors such as 4-n-nonylphenol, bisphenol A and 4-tert-octylphenol were simultaneously analysed. The best conditions achieved enabled the analysis of all analytes using a sample volume of 15 mL or even only 300 μL. Using such a low sample volume reduced the filtra…