Congener profiles of PCB and a proposed new set of indicator congeners Original Research Article

In this study, a new method for calculating total PCB and toxic equivalents (TEQ) of coplanar PCB (Co-PCB) was proposed, called the ‘PCB dual method’. This method analysed various kinds of technical PCB, samples contaminated by technical PCB and byproduct PCB. In the PCB dual method, a data set of 15 indicator congeners was utilized for the calculations, having IUPAC nos. #3, #8, #28, #52, #77, #101, #105, #118, #126, #138, #153, #180, #194, #206 and #209. The 15 congener set was chosen from the major congeners, determined by HRGC/HRMS analysis, in 18 technical PCB, Kanechlor, Aroclor, Clophen and Chlorofen, and 20 other samples, such as indoor air, flue gases, emission gases, municipal solid waste (MSW), ash and sealant. To obtain total PCB and TEQ of Co-PCB, the intermediate sum for the concentration of the 15 congeners was multiplied by each multiplication factor. As a result, we obtained the average factor used to calculate total PCB in technical PCB and other samples. For technical PCB, the factor was 3.01, while for indoor air samples, flue and emission gases, MSW, ash and sealants, the factors were 3.92, 4.16, 3.68, 4.52 and 4.77, respectively. Moreover, the factor used to calculate the TEQ of Co-PCB in Kanechlor and other source samples were also obtained. The factors for Kanechlor, indoor air samples and emission gases from a cement plant were in the order of 10−5, while the factor for flue gases in a MSW incinerator was in the order of 10−3. These data were valuable for the rough estimation of the TEQ of Co-PCB without separation from other PCB before individual measurements.