OCCURRENCE OF POLYCHLORINATED TERPHENYLS (PCTS) IN INDOOR PARTICULATEMATTER

In the course of a routine investigation concerned with polychlorinate d biphenyl (PCB) contamination of dust collected in classrooms of a ju nior high school, a group of electron capture detector (ECD)-sensitive compounds with high boiling points were found in addition to PCBs. Us ing gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric techniques, these compounds were identified as polychlorinated terphenyls (PCTs). Additional meas urements indicated that the PCTs were present only in articulate matte r collected from the tops of fluorescent: light frames but not in air samples obtained concomitantly in the classrooms. Attempts to identify the PCT emission source were unsuccessful. A survey of the literature revealed that PCTs are ubiquitously distributed environmental contami nants, although no data on their indoor occurrence have been reported to date. In view of the toxic effects of PCTs, which seem to be as imp ortant as those of PCBs, further attention should be given to the poss ible presence of PCTs in indoor environments.