By-side PCDD/Fs in technical PCB formulations of Kanechlor series.

The Japanese Kanechlor technical PCB formulations such as KC-300, KC-400, KC-500, KC-600 and KC-1000 have been examined for possible contamination with by-side PCDD/Fs. 75 PCDDs and 135 PCDF have been determined using isotope dilution, separation and enrichment on silica gel impregnated with activated carbon, and final HRGC/HRMS measurement. MonoCDDs to OCDD were absent in KC-300, KC-600 and KC-1000. Tetra- and PentaCDDs occurred at > 1 ng/g in KC-400 and KC-500. The Kanechlors were contaminated with nearly all 135 PCDFsw. In parallel with an increasing degree of chlorination of a particular Kanechlor formulation examined increased also the content of more chlorinated PCDFs. In term of total dioxin-like toxicity and TEQ loads the KC-500 contained highly toxic PCDD/Fs at 270 ng TEQ/g and followed by KC-400 with 269 ng TEQ/g, KC-600 with 188 ng TEQ/g, KC-1000 with 164 ng TEQ/g and KC-300 with 79 ng TEQ/g. From 99.5 to 100% of PCDD/Fs toxicity found in the Kanechlors was from PCDFs.

Content and bioconcentration of mercury in mushrooms from northern Poland.

Mercury (Hg) was quantified using cold vapour-atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS) in the fruiting bodies of nine edible and five inedible mushrooms and in underlying soil substrate samples. In total, 404 samples comprising caps and stalks and 202 samples of soil substrate (0-10 cm layer) were collected in 1996 from Trójmiejski Landscape Park, northern Poland. Mean Hg concentrations in the soil substrate for different species varied between 10 +/- 3 and 780 +/- 500 ng x g(-1) dry wt (range 2.3-1700). Among edible mushroom species, Horse Mushroom (Agaricus arvensis), Brown Birch Scaber Stalk (Leccinum scabrum), Parasol Mushroom (Macrolepiota procera), King Bolete (Boletus edulis) and Yellow-cracking Bolete (Xerocomus subtomentosus) contained elevated concentrations of Hg ranging from 1600 +/- 930 to 6800 +/- 4000 ng x g(-1) dry wt in the caps. Concentrations of Hg in the stalks were 2.6 +/- 1.1 to 1.7 +/- 1.0 times lower than those in the caps. Some mushroom species investigated had high Hg levels when compared with specimens collected from the background reference sites elsewhere (located far away from the big cities) in northern Poland. Bioconcentration factors of Hg in the caps of Horse Mushroom, Parasol Mushroom and Brown Birch Scaber Stalk were between 150 +/- 58 and 230 +/- 150 ng x g(-1) dry wt, respectively, and for inedible Pestle-shaged Puffball (Claviata excipulformis) was 960 +/- 300 ng x g(-1) dry wt. Linear regression coefficients between Hg in caps and in stalks and Hg soil concentrations showed a positive relationship for A. arvensis and Horse mushroom (p < 0.05) and a negative correlation for the caps of Death Caps (Amanita phalloides) and Woolly Milk Cap (Lactarius torminosus) (p < 0.05), while for other species no clear trend was found.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and their congener-specific accumulation in edible fish from the Gulf of Gdansk, Baltic Sea.

Concentrations and composition profiles of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were investigated in composite samples of 10 species of edible fish from the Gulf of Gdansk, in the southern part of the Baltic Sea, Poland, to understand the status of contamination and possible human exposure risk. Apart from the total PCBs, planar non-ortho (IUPAC nos 77, 126, 169) and mono-ortho (nos 105, 114, 118, 123, 156, 157, 167, 189) chlorobiphenyls were also quantified and their dioxin-like toxicity assessed. The absolute total PCB concentrations in fish ranged from 43 to 490 ng g(-1) wet wt (910-11000 ng g(-1) lipids), while of TCDD TEQs of planar members were from 0.15 to 3.1 pg g(-1) wet wt (8.1-81 pg g(-1) lipids). The penta- and hexa-CBs usually comprised 70-80% of the total PCBs and were followed by hepta-, tetra- and tri-CBs, and for a specific site tri- and tetra-CBs comprised as much as 22%. Among the individual CB congeners, nos 118, 153 (+132) and 138 (+160 +163 +164) were the most abundant, while no. 110 comprised between 6.8 and 9.3% of the total PCBs in some species. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to examine the interdependences among CB congeners in the factor space. The PCA model and cluster analyses were further used to examine site- and species-specific differences and similarities of PCB composition, and the results are discussed. An assessed daily intake rate of TCDD TEQ of planar PCBs with the fishmeal of the Gulf of Gdansk in the 1990s was between 78 and 96 pg per capita or between 1.3 and 1.6 pg kg(-1) body weight.

Application of ICP sector field MS and principal component analysis for studying interdependences among 23 trace elements in Polish beers.

Twenty-three metallic elements, including almost all essential and toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, silver, and thallium, have been quantified in 35 types of bottled and canned Polish beer by using double-focusing sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with ultrasonic nebulization. The samples were digested using concentrated HNO3 in closed PTFE vessels and applying microwave energy under pressure. The means and medians of the concentrations of Rb, Mn, and Fe were on the order of 200 ng/mL; Cu, Zn, V, Cr, Sn, As, Pb, and Ni were detected at 1-5 ng/mL; Ag, Ga, Cd, Co, Cs, Hg, U, and Sb were found at < 1 ng/mL; and In, Tl, Bi, and Th were present at < 0.1 ng/mL. The concentrations of Hg, Cd, As, Pb, and Zn were 1-3 orders of magnitude lower than proposed tolerance limits. The interdependences among determined trace elements were examined using the principal component analysis (PCA) method. The PCA model explained 74% of the total variance. The metals tend to cluster together (As, Tl, Cs, Sn, Th, Bi, and Hg; Cd and Co; Cs and Cr; Fe and Zn; Mn and V).