Polychlorinated biphenyls general applicability

In general, capillary gas chromatography provides enough resolution for most determinations in environmental analysis. Multidimensional gas chromatography has been applied to environmental analysis mainly to solve separation problems for complex groups of compounds. Important applications of GC-GC can therefore be found in the analysis of organic micropollutants, where compounds such as polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) (10), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) (10) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (11-15), on account of their similar properties, present serious separation problems. MDGC has also been used to analyse other pollutants in environmental samples (10, 16, 17). 

The polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used commercially since 1929 as dielectric and heat exchange fluids and in a variety of other applications. The presence of PCBs in human and wildlife tissues was first recognized in 1966. Investigations in many parts of the world have since revealed widespread distribution of PCBs in the environment, including remote areas with no PCB production or use. There is evidence that the major source of PCB exposure in the general environment is the redistribution of PCBs previously introduced into the environment. It is believed that large bodies of water, such as the Baltic Sea and the Canadian Great Lakes, may... 

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs section 1.2) and dioxins have been most widely studied in this category. PCBs were used in a wide variety of industrial applications, for example as dielectrics in transformers. But they are very persistent contaminants, both in the general environment and in human fat. In theory the routes of entry into food are ... 

Due to the variable composition, no general abbreviation is used in the literature in contrast to the case for, e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls which are normally assigned as PCBs. Nevertheless, the following abbreviations are found in the literature PCCs (for polychlorinated camphenes) [74],CHBs [75],CBNs [2], and CB (for chlorinated bornanes or chlorobornanes) [76], and CTTs (compounds of technical toxaphene) [77]. The latter includes all substance classes of toxaphene but so far it has not found a broad application. 

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of chlorinated aromatic compounds with widespread applications. PCBs have been prepared synthetically since 1929 and most information on their manufacture under trade names and general characteristics are available from trade publications. The Monsanto Chemical Company, the sole manufacturer in the USA, has provided most information on their preparation and properties (Monsanto, 1972, 1974). 

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