Abstract: Haloacetic acids(HAAs) are formed during the chlorination of drinking water, which are harmful to people′s health due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. In the present study, a detection method combining methyl tert-butyl ether(MtBE) extraction with acid catalysis and gas chromatography coupled with an electron capture detector(GC/ECD) was developed for determining HAAs. The detection limit of this method(MDL) and relative standard deviation(RSD) were below 0.37 μg/L and 6.2%, respectively. The laboratory chlorination experiments were conducted with the purpose of investigating the influences of reaction time, temperature, UV₂₅₄, bromide and ammonia-nitrogen on the formation of HAAs. The results show that the formation amount of HAAs increases with increasing reaction time and temperature, respectively; and there exists a linear relationship between the formation of HAAs and UV₂₅₄. The formation amount of HAAs decreases first and then increases as the bromide ion concentration increases, and adding NH₄⁺ is a possible way to control the formation of HAAs.

Key words: Haloacetic acid(HAA), Drinking water, Chlorination