TOTAL ORGANIC CARBON (TOC)

(Water Quality) A measure of the amount of organic materials suspended or dissolved in water. The measure is very similar to the assay of the total carbon content; however, samples are acidified prior to analysis to remove the inorganic salts of Carbonates and Bicarbonates. The assay of total organic carbon represents an estimation of the strength of wastewater and the potential damage that an effluent can cause in a receiving body of water as a result of the removal of Dissolved Oxygen from the water. The measurement of total organic carbon requires less sample, is more rapid, and yields more reproducible results than the measurement of either the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) or the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). As a pollution indicator, this method is more reliable than the assay of Total Carbon (TC) when the wastewater contains high amounts of total inorganic carbon as well.