Abstract
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are an important group of environmental pollutants, there being a total of 209 theoretical congeners. Residue analysis of the adipose tissue of five species of fish-eating sea birds from British and Irish coastal waters revealed the presence of up to 60 different congeners. By GC-MS, GC-MSD and high resolution capillary GC-ECD using authentic standards, it was possible to identify and quantify 40 different congeners. Despite the large number of PCB congeners identified only 10 accounted for > 80% of the total PCBs. A PCB congener was identified accounting for 5% of the total PCBs (2,3′,4,4′,5′,6-hexachlorobiphenyl) [168] not usually reported in biological samples. Comparison of the molecular structure for the persistent PCB congeners revealed the lack of meta-para unsubstituted adjacent carbon atoms. It has been shown that meta-para unsubstituted adjacent carbon atoms facilitate the metabolism of PCBs and it is hypothesised that the formation of hydroxy derivatives may depend upon such a requirement.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
