Method development and application for triazine herbicides analysis in water, soil and sediment samples from KwaZulu-Natal

This study reports on the development and application of solid phase extraction (SPE) and ultrasonic extraction (UE) methods for the analysis of triazine herbicides in water, soil and sediment samples. The extraction parameters such as conditioning solvent, sample loading volume, eluting solvent, extraction time and sample mass were optimized due to their influence on the extraction efficiency of the analytes. To assess the applicability of the SPE and UE methods, spiked distilled water or soil samples were extracted and analyzed using an LC-PDA instrument. The recoveries obtained under optimum conditions were between 65–94% and 75–100% for SPE and UE, respectively. The relative standard deviations obtained were less than 0.36% for SPE and less than 4.6% for UE. The limit of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.026–0.084 µg/L for SPE and 0.0028–0.0083 mg/kg for UE. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was between 0.088–0.28 µg/L for SPE and 0.0089–0.028 mg/kg for UE. The concentrations of triazines were found to be between 0.96–7.4 µg/L and 0.79–15 µg/L in river water and wastewater effluent samples, respectively. In sediment samples, the triazine concentrations were found to be between 0.032–0.93 mg/kg, while in soil samples they were between 0.12–1.03 mg/kg.