US EPA

2192325 

Technical Report 

Methods for Analysis of Complex Mixtures in Complex, Variable Matrices Chlorinated Biphenyls in Commercial Products and Wastes 

Erickson, MD; Stanley, JS; Turman, JK; Going, JE; Redford, DP 

1983 

NIOSH/00175409 

Formation 

Formation 

The philosophy, development, and validation of a method for the analysis of polychlorinated-biphenyls (1336363) (PCBs) in materials and wastes was described, and a preliminary evaluation for byproducts was carried out. The proposed procedure was based primarily on a strong quality control program, while leaving most of the analytical details to the discretion of the analyst. The proposed method involved the homogenization of samples by grinding or some other physical processing method, incorporation of four recovery surrogates labelled with carbon-13, cleaning and extraction of the sample according to a process selected by the analyst, analysis of the extract by means of gas chromatography with electron impact mass spectrometry detection, followed by interpretation of the data obtained. Details were given as to qualitative and quantitative data reduction, selection of calibration standard congeners, quality control, and validation and application of individual cleanup procedures. The authors conclude that the method is well suited for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), selected classes of substituted PAH, and other products found in complex mixtures.