BEHAVIOR OF SOLID ADSORBENTS FOR THE SAMPLING OF ATMOSPHERIC ORGANOCHLORINE COMPOUNDS

The behaviour of Tenax(R) GC, Polyurethane foam (density 0.022 g/cm3), Amberlite(R) XAD-2 and Amberlite(R) XAD-4 alone or in combination has been studied. Standard atmospheres containing different concentration levels of hexachlorocyclohexane and chlorobenzene isomers were genera ted and trapped in adsorbent cartridges. The generation of the atmosph ere, the adsorption by the cartridges, the extraction of the compounds , the evaporation of the final solution and the analysis of GC/ECD hav e been studied. The most efficient system for trapping the test gases is the use of two cartridges connected in series, one containing Polyu rethane foam and the second one containing Tenax GC. Recovery values r anging from 72% for 1,3-dichlorobenzene to 98% for gamma-hexachlorocyc lohexane are obtained, most of them >90%. The SD values for all the co mpounds under study are around 4% for a total sampled amount of 0.5 mu g of each compound.