Abstract:

Atrazine (ATZ) was widely used to control broadleaf weeds. Numerous animal experiments have proved that atrazine is a suspicious endocrine disruptor. Thus, further development of the ability to estimate low-dose human exposure to atrazine is requested in epidemiologic studies to correlate the toxicological effects associated with the concentrations of ATZ and its metabolites in human body. A method for detecting ATZ and its metabolites (deethylatrazine (DEA), deisopropylatrazine (DIA), deethyldeisopropylatrazine (DEDIA)) in human urines using gas chromatography was established. A urine sample was extracted by ethyl acetate, and purified using a Florisil column. Final concentrated extract was analyzed by a gas chromatograph-electron capture detector. The conditions of this method were optimized. The limits of detection were 0.0025 mg/L for DEDIA, 0.005 mg/L for DEA, DIA and ATZ. The linear ranges were from 0.2 to 8 ng for all analytes. The atrazine concentrations in urine samples of the workers collected from an atrazine plant were determined by this method. The concentration ranges were 0.003-0.301 mg/L for DEDIA, 0.005-0.011 mg/L for DEA, 0.006-0.276 mg/L for DIA, and 0.005-0.012 mg/L for ATZ.

Key words: atrazine, metabolites, urine , gas chromatography （GC）