A routine accredited method for the analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, chlorobenzenes and screening of other halogenated organics in soil, sediment and sludge by GCxGC-μECD.

The analysis of persistent organic pollutants is a real challenge due to the large number of compounds with varying chemical and physical properties. Gas chromatography with electron capture detection or mass spectrometry has been the method of choice for the past 50 years. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) coupled with micro-electron capture detector (μECD) is a new method that can analyze polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCs) and chlorobenzenes (CBz) in a single analytical run with enhanced selectivity and sensitivity over single column methods and can also be used to screen for other halogenated organics in environmental samples. An accredited routine method using commercially available LECO GCxGC-μECD and a column combination DB-1 × Rtx-PCB has been developed to analyse PCBs/OCs/CBz in soils, sediments and sludges. The method provides quantification of Aroclors and Aroclor mixtures to within 15% of target values and sub-nanogrammes per gramme detection limits.