Aqueous etUlylatlon and hydride generatlon, two rapld, convenient speclatlon techniques used for the determmatlon of butyltm species m rwer sediments, were compared After extracting the sediment unth methanol contammg 05 M HCl, the extract was denvatlzed and analysed by gas chromatography-atonuc absorption spectromehy Monobutyltm and dlbutyltm can be determined quantitatively mung the hydnde generation method, for tnbutyltm, the analysis suffers from cntlcal interference from the sediment extract With the ethylatlon method, quantltatlve determmatlon of dlbutyltm and tnbutyltm m the sediment can be achieved, while a lower recovery of monobutyltm IS observed The detection limits for butyltms m sediments are slgmficantly improved by this method because no foaming occurs durmg the ethylatlon step and because the analytical procedure IS not hampered by interference from sediment extracts The detection limits are 0 20, 0 10 and 0 44 ng Sn g -' dry sediment for mono-, dl-and mbutyltm, respectively &ywordr Atonuc absorption spectrometry, Gas chromatography, Butyltm compounds, Hydride generation, Sedlments, Speclatlon
Organotm compounds comprise one of the most thoroughly studied groups of organometalhc chenncals m terms of their mdustxxal and agrxxltural uses and apphcatlons [l] The butyltm species are under intense scrutmy owing to their sigmficant environmental unpact, for example, tnbutyltm (TBT), the most commonly used organotm compound m the aquatic environment, 1s by far the most toxic to aquatic orgamsms, and may be the most acutely toxic chemical to aquatic orgamsms deliberately mtroduced mto water [2]