PCDD FS IN TEXTILES - PART I - A SCREENING METHOD FOR DETECTION OF OCTACHLORODIBENZO-P-DIOXIN AND OCTACHLORODIBENZOFURAN/

A screening method based on analysis with GC/ECD was developed for det ection of octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and octachlorodibenzofuran (OCDD/ F) in textiles. These compounds were chosen as tracers for the PCDD/F contamination, as in all analysed textiles to date at least 50 % of th e total amount of PCDD/F was contributed by OCDD/F. The method was tes ted using 121 cotton textiles purchased in stores in Bayreuth. The res ults from the screening method were cross-checked using conventional a nalysis procedures for selected contaminated and uncontaminated sample s and good agreement was found. About 75 % of the investigated cotton textiles contained low or non-detectable levels of OCDD/F. The concent rations in the remaining samples ranged from 10 pg/g up to 76,000 pg/g with international toxicity equivalents (I-TE) reaching maximum value s of 82 pg/g. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.