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Atrazine is one of the most commonly used herbicidesin the United States, therefore it is a regulatoryconcern and is extensively monitored inthe environment, especially in drinking water.Because of the higher costs of gas chromatography(GC) methods, utility managers and regulators areconsidering the increased use of enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods for monitoringatrazine. An ELISA test kit was recentlyapproved by the US Environmental ProtectionAgency. The research in this article points out potentialbiases and inaccuracies that may occur with suchtest kits.ELISA test kits for atrazine are typically precise(repeatable) but often have a tendency for a positivebias from unknown interferences. Negative biases arealso observed in some cases, which suggest a loweratrazine concentration than is actually present. Theresults of this research can help utilities and regulatorsto better determine the best use of ELISA versus GCmethods for analyzing atrazine with respect to monitoringand/or process control. Includes 36 references, tables, figures.

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Edition: Vol. 96 - No. 12 Published: 12/01/2004 Number of Pages: 14 File Size: 1 file , 340 KB