4
4
HazardousWasteMethods (8000 Series)
The Resource Conservation and RecoveryAct (RCRA) of 1976 was enforced shortly after
front-page headlines revealed the presence of serious hazardous waste sites like Love Canal,
NY andTimes Beach,MO. The analytical methods for determining hazardouswaste, known
as the 8000 series methods, fall under US EPA SW-846. These methods were designed for
monitoringorganic pollutants inwaste samples prior todisposal at hazardouswaste facilities.
They also can be used for monitoring groundwater at these facilities.
Method 8010B:
This packed columnGCmethod is used tomonitor 50 halogenated volatile
pollutants in hazardouswaste samples. It employs purge and trap concentration and an
ELCD.
Method 8011:
This capillary columnGCmethod is used tomonitor 1,2-dibromoethane
(EDB) and 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) in hazardouswaste samples. It employs
microextraction, using hexane, and analysis using anECD.
Method 8015A:
This packed columnGCmethod is used tomonitor non-halogenated
volatile pollutants in hazardouswaste samples. It employs purge and trap concentration and
an FID. Total petroleum hydrocarbon analysis, commonly refered to as 8015-TPH, also falls
under thismethod.Method 8015-TPH uses an FID tomatch a known pattern of gasoline
with an unknown sample containing peaks that fall within the gasoline pattern range. If a
pattern fallswithin the gasolinewindow it may be reported as gasoline.
Method 8020A:
This packed columnGCmethod is used tomonitor ten aromatic volatile
pollutants in hazardouswaste samples. It employs purge and trap concentration and a PID. It
is common for analysts to combineMethods 8010 and 8020, by using a PID and anELCD
in series.
Method 8021A:
This capillary columnGCmethod is used tomonitor 60 volatile contami-
nants in hazardouswaste samples. It employs purge and trap concentration, combinedwith a
PID and anELCD in series. The PID detects aromatic compounds and double-bond com-
pounds, and the ELCD detects halogenated compounds.
Method 8021B:
Using the same analytical technique asMethod 8021A, the compound list
forMethod 8021B includes ten additional compounds but does not require the analysis of
several branched aromatics and halogenated compounds.
Method 8240B:
This packed columnGC/MSmethod is used tomonitor 79 volatile pollu-
tants in hazardous waste samples. It employs purge and trap concentration for most ana-
lytes, but direct injection can be used for some limited applications.
Method 8260B:
This capillary columnGC/MSmethod is used tomonitor 98 volatile pollu-
tants in hazardouswaste samples. It employs purge and trap concentration formost analytes,
but direct injection can be used for some limited applications.
State GROMethods
Leakingunderground storage tanks (LUST) pose significant environmental risks throughout the
country. States have the responsibility to develop LUST testingmethods. State gasoline range
organics (GRO) methods are based on EPAmethods such as 602, 8020 and 8015. The most
common EPAmethod used is 8015, which relies on baseline-integrating the total area of the
gasoline fingerprint, usingmarker compounds such as hexane (C6) and dodecane (C12). The
8015-TPHMethod analysis uses an FID and pattern recognition—the specific ratio of peaks
thatmake up a particular fuel—to identify the type of fuel. If a pattern fallswithin thewindow
markers itmaybe reportedasgasoline, thenquantified.Difficultmatrices can result inmisiden-
tification or poor quantitation of the sample, and deterioration in the environment (weathering)
further complicates the analysis. Therefore, many states have combinedEPAmethods, using a
PID/FID in series (e.g.,Methods 8020/8015-TPH). Specific aromatic compounds are analyzed
usingPID (Methods 602, 8020),which is connected to theFID (Method8015-TPH). The com-
mon target compounds are benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and
m-
,
o-
, and
p-
xylene (BTEX),
howevermany states alsohave addedother compounds to theirmethods (Table I).
DrinkingWater Disinfection Byproducts
1996 amendments to the SDWA require the
EPA to review and revise existingNational
Primary DrinkingWater Regulations
(NPDWR) at least once every six years. Much
of this renewed interest in changes to drink-
ingwater regulation standards stems from
studies suggesting negative reproductive
effects, such as spontaneous abortions,
resulting from trihalomethanes (THMs) in
water. Current studies using compliant levels
of THMs inwater have revealed adverse
reproductive effects, thereforemethod detec-
tion limits (MDLs) will continue to be lowered
inmethods that address THMs.
1
1. S. Richardson, Anal. Chem. 73 (2001)
2719-2734.
