Detailed PCB congener patterns in incinerator flue gas and commercial PCB formulations (Kanechlor)

Abstract

In this study, we determined the detailed PCB congener patterns in flue gases from eight incinerators and four commercial PCB formulations (Kanechlors). About 160 PCB peaks were identified in samples using a DB-5 column and HRGC/HRMS. The concentration of incinerator stack emission gas ranged from 0.02 to 44 ng WHO-TEQ/N m 3. The ratios of dioxin-like PCBs in the total PCB concentration were from 3.4% to 25.7% and from 0.63% to 9.1% in stack emission gases and Kanechlor samples, respectively. The PCB congener profiles of Kanechlor samples were similar to those of previous studies. To determine characteristic congeners in flue gas and Kanechlor samples, principal component analysis (PCA) of the data was conducted using STATISTICA for Windows 5.0J (StatSoft, Inc.). As a result, we obtained four principal components (PCs) and accounted for 74% of the total variance. PC 1 was interpreted combustion, PC 2 and PC 3 were interpreted the difference in the number of substituted chlorines and, PC 4 could not be determined. Moreover, we obtained three groups according to the PCB congeners pattern among samples by PCA. These specific congeners that represent characteristics of each class were identified. These data will be useful for the source analysis of PCBs in the environment.