Analytical methods
Sustainable chlordecone remediation in the French West Indies – Detection and environmental rehabilitation

Monitoring chloride levels helps confirm the degradation of chlordecone by measuring the released chlorides, but does not identify the degradation products. Two main techniques are used for this purpose.

Ion chromatography is a technique used to measure chloride concentrations. By measuring chloride ions in solution, it is possible to monitor increases in their levels, which may be related to the rate of degradation. KOH can be used as an eluent. The limit of quantification of 0.5 mg/L is achieved using a Dionex ICS-3 000 system (Dionex-ThermoScientific, Sunnyvale, CA) with an AS autosampler and an eluent generator. An IonPac AS15 anion exchange column (250 × 4 mm i.d., Dionex) coupled with an IonPac AG15 guard column (50 × 4 mm i.d.) was used for separation