DEVELOPMENT OF ANALYTICAL METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF PCBS IN SOIL BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH ELECTRON-CAPTURE DETECTOR

摘要

The distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the environment has not been systematically studied in Bulgaria in spite of their negative effect on the human health. The aim of this study is to develop a cost-effective method for determination of low concentrations of PCBs and OCPs in soils. After extraction with hexane/acetone and column cleaning with silica, the analyses was performed by gas chromatography with electron-capture detector. The limit of detection is between 0.1 and 1 ng g~(-1), the reproducibility at low environmental levels is about 15% RSD. The analytical recoveries for the individual compounds are between 65% and 100%. The method can be applied to study the sources of pollution, the migration and biogeochemistry of PCBs in the environment.