Lancaster Laboratories Environmental

Environmental NEWS - Fall 2011

Certification pending for new PCB congener analysis

As a natural extension of the expertise developed with analysis for dioxins and furans, Lancaster Laboratories Specialty Services Group has developed a new analysis offering for the analysis of the 209 PCB congeners by EPA Method 1668C for water, soil and sediments. Like the dioxin and furan analysis, the new analysis is performed by high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS), providing state-of-the-art sensitivity and selectivity.

Common PCB methods determine the PCBs as Aroclors, such as EPA SW-846, Method 8082. The total of 209 congeners are all of the possible isomers of PCBs, many of which make up Aroclors. The analysis for the 209 includes the 12 WHO dl-PCBs as well as the 21 NOAA chlorinated biphenyls, which are important to assessing the toxic effects of biological exposure. Analysis and fingerprinting of the 209 congeners can also help with point-source identification and forensic determinations. Known carcinogens in animals, PCBs likely have similar repercussions on humans and are widely speculated to have adverse developmental, endocrine and reproductive effects.

The new PCB congener analysis is expected to be certified by PADEP this spring 2012 according to Chuck Neslund, manager of the Specialty Services Group. “The addition of this new service really augments our commitment to providing support for really complex environmental projects,” he says. “A client is now able to request analyses that range from the difficult PCB congener to the simplest wet chemistry test, all under one roof with the capacity to do large projects, quickly. There aren’t many labs where you can do the kind of one-stop shopping that you can at Lancaster Labs.”

For more information, contact Environmental Business Development at 717-656-2300.