Selection and evaluation of chemical indicators for waste stream identification

Human and animal waste poses a threat to the quality of groundwater, surface water and sources of drinking water. This is especially of concern for private and public water supplies in agricultural areas of Wisconsin where land spreading of livestock waste occurs on thin soils overlaying fractured bedrock. Current microbial source tracking methods for reliable source identification requires the use of expensive and time consuming testing using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques. Due to cost, these tests are often not an option for homeowners, municipalities or state agencies with limited resources. The Water and Environmental Analysis Laboratory (WEAL) sought to develop a method to provide a lower cost analytical technique to determine sourcesof fecal waste using fecal sterols/stanols, pharmaceuticals (human and veterinary) and human care/use products in ground and surface waters using solid phase extraction techniques combined with liquid chromatography and triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS).