Pesticide Waste Treatment Monitoring of s-Triazines Using Immunoassay

Pesticide waste disposal monitoring currently utilizes conventional methods of analysis such as gas-liquid chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. Enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays (ELISAs) have been developed for s-triazine herbicides and many of their environmental degradation products. This paper reports the use of an s-triazine herbicide class-specific ELISA in conjunction with an ELISA for the intermediate product chlorodiamino-s-triazine (CAAT) for measuring s-triazine herbicide ozonation followed by microbiological treatment. For the treatment of atrazine, the ELISAs were very accurate and precise for measuring atrazine and CAAT. The geometric mean regression equation of the amount found by ELISA on the amount found by HPLC for both analytes was Y = 1.12X - 7.13, standard error = 0.038 mu M, R = 0.95, df = 43. The information obtained by the two ELISAs could be used for treatment process control. This ELISA system may save time and expense in s-triazine herbicide treatment monitoring applications.