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Determination of levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) present in caulk and window glazing material samples from older buildings
Citation:
Osemwengie, L. AND J. Morgan. Determination of levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) present in caulk and window glazing material samples from older buildings. Presented at SETAC North America 36th Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, November 01 - 05, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
This will be slide presentation
Description:
Levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in caulk and window glazing material samples from older buildings were determined, using a method developed for this purpose. This method was evaluated by analyzing a combination of 47 samples of caulk, glazing materials, including quality control samples, from older buildings in four locations in the United States. The samples were collected from the interior and exterior doors, windows, interior building seams, around installed fixtures and appliances, and within interior and exterior building joints. The choice of materials for testing the efficacy of this method, emanated from the existing caulk and glazing materials previously used in older buildings in the United States and elsewhere. Quality control analyses showed a range of 45 to 137 % for spike recovery from the various samples, and a range of 10.9 to 20.1 % difference in precision. The result for the samples analyzed showed that three of the four locations sampled contained caulking and glazing materials with levels of PCBs in the range of 54.6μg/g to 445,000μg/g. Across the four locations, 24% of collected caulk and glazing material samples had elevated PCB levels relative to the U.S. EPA’s 50 μg/g criteria under the Toxic Substance Control Act. The PCBs determined in the samples, exhibited characteristic chromatographic patterns similar to those of Aroclor 1242, 1248, 1254, 1260, 1262, and a 1016/1254 mixture.