Advancing PCB Congener Analysis: GC Triple Quadrupole with High Volume MMI and Dynamic MRMNew Organic Monitoring Techniques
Oral Presentation
Prepared by A. Willey1, A. Cuthbertson2, A. Andrianova2, N. Harden3
1 - Agilent Technologies, 10 Buckeye Road, Woolwich Twp, NJ, 08085, United States
2 - Agilent Technologies, 2850 Centerville Road, Wilmington, DE, 19808, United States
3 - Agilent Technologies, 679 Springvale Road, Mulgrave, Victoria, 3170, Australia
Contact Information: [email protected]; 856-269-6739
ABSTRACT
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is transitioning from Aroclor-based PCB analysis to congener-specific methods due to well-documented limitations of Aroclor quantitation, including the inability to characterize all 209 congeners and significant underestimation resulting from environmental weathering. EPA’s proposed withdrawal of seven Aroclor parameters under the Clean Water Act Methods Update Rule (MUR 22) further reinforces the need for congener-specific monitoring and positions EPA Method 1628 as the regulatory pathway forward. This work aims to establish Method 1628 within a more selective and robust triple quadrupole GC/MS (GC/TQ) workflow aligned with the evolving regulatory landscape.
The new method builds upon EPA Method 1628 by incorporating high-volume injection using a multimode inlet (MMI) coupled with GC/TQ operated in dynamic multiple reaction monitoring (dMRM) mode. This approach enables ppt- and sub-ppb-level detection in complex matrices, while dMRM enhances selectivity and minimizes interferences across all 209 congeners. The method employs large-volume solvent vent injection on the MMI to achieve ppt and sub-ppb detection limits while maintaining excellent linearity across four orders of magnitude.
