Volatile organic compounds in the surface waters of northern Greece

An investigation into the occurrence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was conducted for a period of two years in the surface waters of Northern Greece. Samples from four rivers and five lakes were taken seasonally and analyzed for VOCs. The analysis has been performed by purge-and-trap (PAT) gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) technique. The most commonly encountered VOCs in surface waters were chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethylene, dichlorobromomethane, tetrachloroethylene, and chlorodibromomethane.