Determination of PCBs in Transformers Oil Using Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectroscopy and Aroclors (A1254:A1260)

Abstract. The current study shows a calibration method in gas chro-matography (GC) with detection by mass spectrometry (MS) to quan-tify polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) present in transformer oils. The calibration was carried out with a secondary standard composed of a mixture of Aroclors (A1254:A1260), in one to one proportion and a reference standard (1,3,5-trichlorobenzene). This last one was used to evaluate the answer of the MS. The limit of detection of the method was below 10 μg/mL, with ± 0.002 as deviation in the rela-tive retention time (RRT) and 3.39 % as relative response factor (RRF). Finally, PCBs concentration in oil samples was determined from the calibration data