determination of the caffeine concentration

Anthropogenic contamination in Sanka stream – derermination of the caffeine concentration Key words watercourse – caffeine – water pollution Caffeine is a widely consumed pharmaceutical. Despite it's easily metabolized in the organism, caffeine is present in wastewaters generated by households. When untreated wastewaters are discharged into surface waters caffeine levels can increase. Therefore, its detection in waterways can be considered as an indicator of anthropogenic pollution. This paper presents the results of determination of caffeine in Sanka and its tributaries. The Sanka stream has its origin in the areas lying to the north-west of the city of Krakow, and an outlet in the western part of the city (Bielany). Sanka is a left-bank tributary of the Vistula. Sanka is a drinking water supply for the city. Analyses were performed with applied the techniques of solid phase extraction and gas chromatography combined with a mass spectrometry. The concentration of caffeine in samples ranged from 57.9 to 488.0 ng/dm3. 1