Highly Toxic Chlorobiphenyl and By-Side Impurities Content and Composition of Technical Chlorofen Formulation

Abstract

Non- and mono-ortho CBs as well as also highly toxic by-side impurities such as chlorodibenzofurans, chlorodibenzo-p-dioxins, and chloronaphthalenes after a subsequent 2D-HPLC and HRGC-HRMS separation, detection, and identification were quantified in technical chlorobiphenyl Chlorofen formulation. Chlorofen is highly chlorinated CB mixture and its compositional profile of mono-ortho CBs is occupied by 2,3,3′,4,4′,5′-HxCB (no. 157) with 96.6% and followed by 2,3,3′,4,4′,5-HxCB (no. 156) with 3.3% and 2,3′,4,4′,5,5′-HxCB (no. 167) with <0.1%, while nos. 105, 114, 118, 123, and 189 remained undetected (<10 µg/g). Amongst non-ortho CBs only a trace of 3,3′,4,4′-TeCB (no. 77) was found at 15 µg/g, while CBs nos. 81, 126, and 169 were absent. TCDD TEQ for mono- and non-ortho CBs in Chlorofen was 2320 and 1.5 ng/g, respectively, while for CDFs and CNs were 45 and 731 ng/g, respectively, and for both types of contaminants most contributing were OcCDF and OcCN. No tetra- to OcCDD was found in Chlorofen.

Keywords:

• PCBs
• PCDFs
• PCDDs
• PCNs
• Hazardous waste
• Hazardous chemicals
• Dioxin-like compounds
• Industrial chemicals
• Lubricants
• Contamination
• POPs
• Environmental analytical chemistry

Acknowledgment

This study was supported partly by the Polish State Committee of Scientific Research (KBN) under the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Joint Project (R-92) between Poland and Japan, project no. 127/E/335/S/2003 and DS/8250-4-0092-04.