US EPA

The addition of the "dioxin-like" polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners to the assessment of risk associated with the 2,3,7,8-chlorine substituted dioxins and furans has dramatically increased the number of laboratories worldwide that are developing analytical procedures for their detection and quantitation. Most of these procedures are based on established sample preparation and analytical techniques employing high resolution gas chromatography/ high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS), which are used for the analyses of dioxin/furans at low parts-per-trillion (ppt) levels. A significant and widespread problem that arises when using these sample preparation procedures for the analysis of coplanar PCBs is the presence of background levels of these congeners. Industrial processes, urban incineration, leaking electrical transformers, hazardous waste accidents, and improper waste disposal practices have released appreciable quantities of PCBs into the environment. This contamination has resulted in the global distribution of these compounds via the atmosphere and their ubiquitous presence in ambient air. The background presence of these compounds in method blanks must be addressed when determining the exact concentrations of these and other congeners in environmental samples. In this study reliable procedures were developed to accurately define these background levels and assess their variability over the course of the study. The background subtraction procedures developed and employed increase the probability that the values reported accurately represent the concentrations found in the samples and were not biased due to this background contamination.

Ferrario, J., C. Byrne, AND A. Dupuy. Background Contamination by Coplanar Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Trace Level High Resolution Gas Chromatography/High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (Hrgc/Hrms) Analytical Procedures. CHEMOSPHERE. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 34(11):2451-2465, (1997).

This document has been reviewed in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

• PDF file of full article (PDF)  (15 pp, 496 KB, about PDF)

If you have a disability and the format of any material on our web pages interferes with your ability to access the information, please reach out to us using the Contact us about IRIS form for assistance. To enable us to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please indicate the nature of the accessibility problem, the web address of the requested material, your preferred format in which you want to receive the material (electronic format (ASCII, etc.), standard print, large print, etc.), and your contact information.