ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Determining PCBs in Fish and Sediment Samples
Related to Intercomparison Studies
Anna Filipkowska
Marine Pollution Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Powstańców Warszawy 55, 81-712 Sopot, Poland
Powstańców Warszawy 55, 81-712 Sopot, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2013;22(5):1341–1347
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
This paper reports on the analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in selected intercomparison
materials (IAEA-435 (tuna) and IAEA-159 (sediment)), and presents the author’s results against the back-
ground of results accepted by the organizer of the intercomparison studies, i.e. the Marine Environment
Laboratories of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Monaco. The samples were extracted with a mix-
ture of acetone/hexane (tuna) or acetonitrile (sediment) by sonication, cleaned up using micro-columns packed
with different materials (e.g. silica gel, florisil, copper), and analyzed by GC-ECD. The difficulties of PCB
determination are indicated and the differences between the analyses of low- and high-molecular-weight PCBs
are emphasized.
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