Benzotriazoles (BTs) such as 1H-benzotriazole (1H-BT), 5-methyl-1H-benzotriazole (5Me-BT) and 4-methyl-1H-benzotriazole (4Me-BT) have a wide range of industrial applications. BTs are present for example in dishwasher detergents, in automotive antifreeze formulations and aircraft de-icing/anti-icing fluids (ADAF) as corrosion inhibitors. BTs belong to the group of “emerging contaminants” that have got in recent years more and more in the focus of environmental scientists, policy makers and the general public. These compounds are ubiquitous and highly mobile in the aquatic environment. It has been already shown that BTs have negative effects on aquatic organisms. The objective of the present study was among others to monitor 1H-BT, 4Me-BT and 5Me-BT in river- and wastewater. River water samples were taken from five rivers in the Hengstbach/Schwarzbach catchment area, a medium-sized catchment area of about 400 km². River water grab samples were taken during six different sampling. The aim of this monitoring study was to get a seasonal catchment-wide overview on measured concentrations and mass loads of BTs. BTs concentrations were determined in 24-hours influent composite samples taken on different month from three wastewater influents in Germany. In addition, 2-hours composite influent samples collected during one day in April were analyzed to determine the daily periodic emissions of BTs mass flows. Moreover, ADAF used at German airports and three dishwasher detergent tablets commonly used in Germany were analyzed for the presence of BTs to study the distribution pattern of those compounds in different products. An analytical method based on SPE and GC-MS has been developed and optimized for the determination of the presence of the corrosion inhibitors 1H-BT, 4Me-BT and 5Me-BT in environmental samples.

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