Special Report No. 05-02: Evaluation of Colorimetric Total Organic Carbon Methods in Pulp and Paper Mill Wastewaters and Receiving Waters

This report presents the results of a single laboratory evaluation of three colorimetric methods for the determination of total organic carbon (TOC). It also provides a comparison of the colorimetric analytical results to results from EPA Methods 415.1 and 415.2, which are approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for effluent monitoring. The methods were investigated in samples of biologically treated effluent from 22 mills, process wastewaters from four mills, and receiving waters from six locations.