Determination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran congeners in air particulate and marine sediment standard reference materials (SRMs)

Due to the limited number of environmental matrix certified reference materials (CRMs) with assigned values for natural levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), an interlaboratory study was undertaken by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Environment Canada to establish reference concentration Values for selected PCDD/Fs in two well-characterized NIST Standard Reference Materials (SRMs): SRM 1649a (Urban Dust) and SRM 1944 (New York/New Jersey Waterway Sediment). Results from 14 laboratories were used to provide reference values for the seventeen 2, 3, 7, 8-substituted PCDD/F congeners, the totals for individual tetra- through hepta-substituted PCDD/F homologues, and the total amount of tetra- through hepta-substituted PCDD/Fs. The mass fractions for the individual 2, 3, 7, 8-substituted congeners range from approximately 0.01 mug/kg to 7 mug/kg dry mass.