Summary

The composition of any technical PCB formulation can be determined irectly by analyzing the PCB sample by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID), provided the relative molecular masses of the components are known. The responses of electron capture and selected-ion monitoring, mass-spectra detectors can then be calibrated for individual PCB congeners by correlation of the chromatographic patterns with those of concentrated PCB samples obtained by GC-FID. This procedure, which uses a given technical PCB formulation as a secondary reference standard mixture, is to be preferred over existing calibration methods, when results with + 10 % errors are acceptable because commercial PCB formulations cover the whole range of chlorination products