This study proposes a modification to the standard method for the determination of the chemical oxygen demand of samples with a salinity up to 40 g NaCl/L and low organic concentrations (20-230 mg COD/L). The masking of chloride by the use of a HgSO(4):Cl ratio of 20:1 prior to digestion, and the use of 3 g K(2)Cr(2)O(7)/L in the digestion solution resulted in an error of less than 10% and 12% for samples containing 40 g NaCl/L at 20-190 mg COD/L and 230 mg COD/L, respectively. Comparison of the standard method with the new proposed method using a synthetic sewage highlights the large errors (50-85%) of the standard method in contrast to an error of less than 10% for the proposed modified method. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.