Eg. Vandervelde et al., GC-MS ANALYSIS OF THE PCB SUBSTITUTE UGILEC-141 AND ITS OCCURRENCE INWASTE MINERAL-OILS, HRC. Journal of high resolution chromatography, 18(10), 1995, pp. 647-652
After the restrictions on production and use of PCBs, Ugilec 141, a te
chnical mixture of dichlorobenzyldichlorotoluenes (DBDTs), has been us
ed as a PCB substitute in hydraulic systems, In the Netherlands, the p
roduction, import and use of Ugilec 141 has been forbidden since 1988,
A method has been developed for the analysis of Ugilec 141 in waste m
ineral oils to control waste oil import and processing. The method dev
elopment was based on modification of procedures for the analysis of P
CBs in oil and dioxins in fatty matrices and analysis was performed wi
th gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. For sample clean-up, sev
eral combinations of column chromatography with activated carbon, alum
ina, and silica gel have been tested to obtain extracts free from matr
ix interferences, An internal standard of C-13-labeled DBDT was examin
ed to check recoveries from the clean-up procedures, Quantification wa
s performed by comparison with the six most abundant peaks of an exter
nal Ugilec 141 standard mixture, Validation experiments showed a linea
r range from 0.25 to 60 mg Ugilec 141 kg(-1) oil, a reproducibility of
3 % and a limit of determination of 0.25 mg Ugilec 141 kg(-1) waste o
il. The method was applied in a survey of 70 samples of waste mineral
oils from producers all over the Netherlands; this revealed levels bel
ow the limit of determination and one positive sample with a concentra
tion of 5.7 +/- 0.1 mg Ugilec 141 kg(-1) oil. In an inspection inquiry
one contaminated oil was found containing 116 +/- 9 g Ugilec 141 kg(-
1) oil.