Organic micropollutants in a Norwegian water-course

A Norwegian water-course has been investigated for the content of organic micropollutants. The investigation was performed using liquid—liquid extractions and analysed by GC and GC-MS using capillary columns. Both qualitative and semi-quantitative results were obtained. The dominating components from the main downstream station were mostly n-alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons and fatty acids. The main sources for the hydrocarbons are probably runoff from roads and atmospheric fallout, while the fatty acids originate from natural sources. Phenol and cresols together with some unidentified compounds were also present in minor amounts. These compounds probably originate from a large industrial effluent in the region.