PYROLYSIS-GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY OF POLYCHLORINATED-BIPHENYLS ON SEDIMENT

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are common environmental contaminants which were freely employed for many years in numerous industrial applications but whose use has now been regulated. This paper reports on preliminary experiments directed to assessing the use of pyrolysis/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (PY/GC/MS) in determining PCB contamination of soils and sediments. In these experiments pyrolytic desorption at 1000 degree C during 10 sec was used to completely replace more lengthy wet chemical manipulations. Results indicate that PY/GC/MS is capable of demonstrating the presence of spiked PCBs on air-dried sediment at approximately 10 ppm level. No wet chemical manipulations were made on the spiked dried sediment.