Methyl sulfonyl polychlorinated biphenyls and 2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichlorethenein gray seal tissues determined by gas chromatography with electron capture detection and atomic emission detection

Abstract

The presence of 24 methyl sulfonyl polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners (MeSO{sub 2}-CBs) and 3-methyl sulfonyl 2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichlorethene (DDE) (MeSO{sub 2}-DDE), metabolites of PCB and DDE, in blubber, lung, and liver of gray seals has been determined by using atomic emission detection (AED) and electron capture detection (ECD). Selective accumulation of aryl methyl sulfones in blubber, liver, and lung tissue was also investigated. For the liver samples, a substantial and highly specific retention of PCB methyl sulfones was observed. The atomic emission technique significantly improved the determination of measured solutes compared with ECD. Atomic emission detection was also valuable for the monitoring of the prefractionation and to decrease the requirements of sample clean-up. Comparing both detection techniques showed a good correlation between the results of the AED sulfur-selective line and ECD.