GC/MS determination of incidental PCBs in complex chlorinated-hydrocarbon process and waste streams.
An electron-impact gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method using selected ion monitoring for the determination of incidental polychlorinated biphenyls in complex chlorinated-hydrocarbon samples is described. Ions in the molecular-ion cluster for each degree of chlorination (from monochloro- to decachlorobiphenyl) are monitored. Individual PCB isomers are used as standards. Validation data collected for several complex chlorinated-hydrocarbon matrices in three different laboratories had a relative precision (2sigma) of 20% with a limit of detection (3 x standard deviation of base-line noise) of 5 ppm for a single isomer at any degree of chlorination. The method has been used for the determination of incidental PCBs in more than 1000 samples from more than 30 different chlorinated-hydrocarbon sample matrices.
Collard
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Dow Chemical USA, Louisiana Division, Plaquemine, LA 70764, U.S.A.
Irwin
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MM