Amounts of Formaldehyde in Tap Water and Commercially Available Mineral Water

Abstract

A simple gas chromatographic (GC) method has been developed to determine trace amounts of formaldehyde (HCHO) in tap water and commercially available mineral water. HCHO was reacted with O-(2, 3, 4, 5, 6-pentafluorobenzyl) oxyamine, and the product, HCHO-oxime derivative, was determined by GC using a capillary column. The HCHO can be detected as its pentafluorobenzyloxime, by using an electron capture detector, at levels of 0.1pg. Finally, 3.85-14.8μg/L and 4.88-9.23μg/L of HCHO were detected in tap water of 6 cities and 3 commercial mineral waters in bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate, respectively. Commercial mineral water in glass bottles and paper packages contained 0.16 and 0.20μg/L of HCHO, respectively.