Abstract |
Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is an herbicide, defoliant, and antimicrobic chemical used throughout the United States as a preservative agent for many products. Pentachlorophenol seems to be present everywhere, appearing in municipal water supplies, wells, paints, wood and paper products, and in urine of every person now being examined. The ubiquity of human exposure to this potentially dangerous compound has prompted concern in the field of public health. This interest has been stimulated by several recent industrial and public intoxications which resulted in fatalities. This report describes a simple and rapid method for the determination of PCP based upon its coversion to any one or more of seven possible alkyl ethers. PCP ethers are detected and quantitated by electron capture gas chromatography and their identity is confirmed by p-values. Data are presented for seven GLC columns and three p-value solvent systems. |