On‐line monitoring of the dynamics of trihalomethane concentrations in a warm public swimming pool using an unsupervised membrane inlet mass spectrometry system with off‐site real‐time surveillance

To study the long‐term dynamics of trihalomethanes (THMs) in a warm (31–33°C) public swimming pool, we built a robust membrane inlet mass spectrometer that could perform unsupervised, on‐site monitoring of the concentration of these compounds with off‐site, real‐time surveillance. The instrument was installed in a technical room below the pool and operated continuously for more than a year practically only interrupted for filament replacements every 6–8 weeks. One to two days after a filament replacement, the instrument stabilized and kept its calibration until shortly before the next filament burnout. The on‐line monitoring of THMs revealed a daily rhythm in the concentrations of chloroform and bromodichloromethane. They increased during the pool's closing hours and decreased during opening hours with the minimum concentration being approximately half of the maximum. Over the 1 year monitoring period, the variation in the maximum registered daily concentration was 30–100 µg/L for chloroform. The variation of bromodichloromethane was 5–10 µg/L, except during bursts of 1–2 days duration, where the concentration of bromodichloromethane could reach 100 µg/L. The burst in bromodichloromethane concentration was directly correlated with salt addition (sodium chloride) to the pool water for use in the pool's electrolytic in‐line chlorination system. A correlation between THM removal from the pool water and the operation of a strong water jet system was also found. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.