DETERMINATION OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS IN GROUNDWATER BY SPECTROPHOTOMETRY

Phenolic compounds are among the most important contaminants present in the environment. Although they can be originated naturally due to the degradation of humic substances, tannins and lignins, many industrial processes, including production of drugs, textiles, dyes, pesticides and paper, are the main sources of these compounds in the environment. As a result of these applications, they are found in soils and sediments and this often leads to ground water contamination. Owing to their high toxicity and persistence in the environment, both, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Union have included some of them in their lists of priority pollutants. The present study was intended to determine total phenolic compounds content in groundwater of selected wells in the oil-field of Patos-Marinza area using three spectrophotometric methods: direct spectrophotometric method, chloroform extraction method and ion-exchange spectrophotometry method. Results indicated that the groundwater samples showed high levels of phenol relative to the maximum allowed limit reported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).