Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls and chlorinated pesticides in environmental biological samples using focused microwave-assisted extraction

Organochlorine compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlor inated pesticides have been analysed in environmental biological samples us ing focused microwave-assisted extraction (FMW). The analytical procedure i s presented and the results for two Standard Reference Materials, a cod liv er oil and a freeze-dried mussel tissue, are reported. The average recoveri es for the sum of the PCBs are between 93 % and 106 %, and for the sum of t he chlorinated pesticides are between 109 to 115 % for all the certified co mpounds analysed. The developped analytical procedure is highly reproducibl e with an average standard deviation of 8 % for the sum of the PCBs and 9.7 % for the sum of the chlorinated pesticides in the two matrices.