Levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in some waste motor and transformer oils from Poland

Waste motor and transformer oils are considered as a main source of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) emission into the environment. The levels of total PCB in twenty six randomly selected samples of waste motor and transformer oils from different regions of Poland were studied. The clean-up of the extracts on two solid phase extraction columns system and determination of PCBs by capillary gas chromatography with electron capture detection were performed. The determined content of PCBs in motor oils was by one order of magnitude higher than in transformer oils, but in the both types of analysed samples, except one sample, did not exceed 50 μg/g.