EXTRACTION AND RECOVERY OF POLYCHLORINATED DIBENZODIOXINS AND DIBENZOFURANS FROM MODIFIED METHOD-5 SAMPLING TRAIN PARTICULATE MATTER

Because of the extreme toxicity of certain polychlorinated dibenzodiox in (PCDD) and dibenzofuran (PCDF) isomers, there is widespread concern regarding effective sampling and analysis for these compounds. One st ationary source which raises concern is the effluent of hazardous wast e incinerators where PCDDs/PCDFs may be formed during thermal destruct ion of hazardous waste. Particulate material in incinerator flue gas i s collected on a quartz fiber filter in the sampling train recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for collection of PCDDs a nd PCDFs. These halogenated organic compounds are recovered from the f ilter and from the sorbent of the sampling train by extraction with an organic solvent. To evaluate the effectiveness of this extraction pro cess, a spiking study was performed using filters from various station ary sources. In comparing recoveries from particulate-laden filters to recoveries from spiked clean filters, no significant compound losses can be attributed to the particulate matter interactions in these samp les. A modified sampling method has been written to address concerns a bout potential problems with recovery of PCDDs/PCDFs from particulate- laden sampling train filters.