Nitrobenzenes are used as precursors for the production of numerous industrial chemicals including polyurethane, pesticides, azo dyes, explosives, and pharmaceuticals. These compounds may be released into the environment by production plants through wastewater discharge and may contaminate ground and surface waters that sur- round these plants. Since ground and surface waters serve as sources of drinking water, human exposure to nitroben- zene compounds has raised concerns among regulatory agencies throughout the world. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) considers nitrobenzene and its derivatives to be likely human carcinogens1 and the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IRAC) considers nitrobenzene a Class 2B carcinogen.2 The Chinese Ministry of Environ- mental Protection promulgated Hygiene Standards for Domestic Drinking Water (GB 5749-2006)3 to limit the concentration of nitrobenzene compounds in environmen- tal waters and have recently added a standard method for detection of 15 nitrobenzene compounds in drinking water (HJ 648-2013)4 for compliance monitoring (Table 1).
United States
