A new task group of ASTM Subcommittee D19.06 on Methods for Analysis for Organic Substances in Water was formed during the June meeting of Committee D19 on Water to develop a Standard Test Method for the Determination of Nonylphenol and Nonylphenoxyethanol in Environmental Waters. The group invites representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, other federal, state and municipal agencies, contract labs, and chemists to develop this test method by contacting the task group chairman. The first task group meeting will be held during ASTM Committee Week, Jan. 14-18, 2001, in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

“Trace amounts of nonylphenol and nonylphenoxyethanol can enter environmental waters in industrial and municipal effluents as the result of the biodegradation of nonylphenol ethoxylates during wastewater treatment,” explains Task Group Chairman Todd Wheeler, analytical lab group leader, Schenectady International, Inc., Schenectady, N.Y. “Nonylphenol ethoxylates are high-value surfactant products commonly used in applications ranging from textile, paper and polymer manufacture to industrial and consumer detergents. Regulatory developments in the United States and Canada will most likely require dischargers to monitor for the presence of nonylphenol in their effluent.

“Specifically, the U.S. EPA is developing water quality criteria for nonylphenol, and Environment Canada is expected to establish acceptable levels for the presence of nonylphenol in environmental waters,” he says. “Therefore, a standardized analytical method for detecting and monitoring nonylphenol in environmental waters will be necessary to determine compliance with forthcoming water quality standards.”

According to Wheeler, a method was submitted to ASTM by the Alkylphenols and Ethoxylates Research Council, Washington, D.C., which has been used extensively by industry and in monitoring research conducted for the EPA. The method, which Wheeler says is economical, easy to run, and applicable to sediment, sewage sludge, and fish tissue, will be re-drafted by the task group and balloted by the Society.

Questions may be directed to Todd Wheeler, Analytical Lab Group Leader, Schenectady International, Inc., 2750 Balltown Rd., Schenectady, NY 12309 (518/347-4467; fax: 518/347-6467). For Committee D19 membership details, contact Staff Manager Bruce Noe, ASTM (610/832-9719). For information about the safety of nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates, related environmental research and the NPE Environmental Management Program, contact the Alkylphenols and Ethoxylates Research Council (202/637-9071; fax: 202/637-9178). //

Copyright 2000, ASTM