Optimized gel permeation chromatographic cleanup for soil, sediment, wastes, and oily waste extracts for determination of semivolatile organic pollutants and PCBs.

A gel permeation chromatographic (GPC) method, used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), was modified for cleanup of soil, sediments, wastes, and oily wastes before determination of semivolatile organic pollutants. The modifications included new calibration procedures and control of the amount of material processed. The modifications were evaluated for soil and sediment matrixes in a 5-laboratory study where each laboratory processed a solution containing a phthalate, substituted phenols and benzenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), nitroaniline, and pesticides. With the exception of nitroaniline, analyte recoveries were 87-112%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 6.7-26%. Soil samples containing PCBs and fortified with 6 pesticides at 0.7-4 micrograms/g were also analyzed by the 5 laboratories. The mean recovery of the 6 pesticides was 100% with a mean RSD of 16%. Mean RSD for the determination of total PCBs was 8.9%. An additional modification for the processing of wastes and high concentration waste samples was attempted; this involved GPC processing of sample extracts dissolved in 1 + 1 butyl chloride-methylene chloride. This modification did not improve recoveries of the semivolatile analytes. Finally, the modified GPC protocol was applied to PCB-contaminated reclaimed waste oils samples. Two GPC cleanup steps were used to separate PCBs from the waste oil samples before PCBs were determined by gas chromatography combined with electron-capture detection (GC/ECD).