Validation of a congener specific method for Ortho and non- Ortho substituted polychlorinated biphenyls in fruit and vegetable samples

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 1997-10, Vol.35 (7), p.1399-1407
• Main Authors: Chewe, D., Creaser, C.S., Foxal, C.D., Lovett, A.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Chromatography - methods; Chromatography - statistics & numerical data; Environmental Pollutants - analysis; Food Contamination - analysis; Food industries; Fruit - chemistry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry - methods; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry - statistics & numerical data; General aspects; Miscellaneous; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - chemistry; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - standards; Reference Standards; Reproducibility of Results; Vegetables - chemistry
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/S0045-6535(97)00235-X

An on-line procedure has been developed and validated for the clean-up and fractionation of ortho and non- ortho-PCBs in fruit and vegetable samples. The procedure combines silica/acid and carbon/glass fibre columns with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Chromatography on carbon/glass fibre allowed collection of mono- ortho/di- ortho and non- ortho-PCB fractions, which were determined separately by GC-MS. The method was validated by replicate analyses and by inter-laboratory comparison of data for PCB congeners determined in fruit and vegetable samples collected in South Wales. The concurrent determination of ortho and non-ortho substituted PCBs is reported with recoveries ranging from 55–95% and a mean intea-laboratory precision (%COV) of 9.5% for apple extracts.