Limit of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin
[CautionSince 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin is an extremely toxic substance, exercise all necessary precautions in the conduct of this procedure.
] Dissolve 10.0 g of Hexachlorophene in 50 mL of methanol, transfer to a 1-Liter separator with the aid of 25 mL of methanol, add 25 mL of 2.5 N lithium hydroxide and 225 mL of water, and extract with two 200-mL portions of freshly distilled
n-hexane. Dry the combined
n-hexane extracts over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filter, and evaporate to a volume of about 15 mL on a rotary evaporator at a bath temperature not exceeding 40
. Transfer this solution in portions to a 12-mL centrifuge tube, concentrating each time to a volume of 1 mL in a gentle stream of nitrogen in a warm water bath. Rinse the flask with 15 mL of
n-hexane, and evaporate similarly. Wash down the walls of the tube with 10 mL of
n-hexane, and again evaporate to a volume of 1.0 mL. Cool, and transfer to a micro-column that has been prepared in the following manner. Place a small plug of glass wool in a 5- × 15-mm pipet, add a small amount of sand and 1.0 g of basic alumina, tap several times to pack down the alumina, and heat in a vacuum oven at 110
for 3 hours. Store under vacuum.
Elute the column with 10 mL of a mixture of n-hexane and methylene chloride (9:1), using a portion to rinse the tube. Collect the eluate in a 12-mL graduated centrifuge tube, and concentrate in a gentle stream of nitrogen in a warm water bath to a volume of 1.0 mL.
Inject 2.0 µL of the concentrated eluate into a suitable gas chromatograph connected to a mass spectrograph equipped with a multiple-ion detector (see
Chromatography 621 and
Mass Spectrometry 736). The gas chromatograph is fitted with a 2-mm × 1-m glass column containing liquid phase G1 on support S1. The carrier gas is helium, flowing at the rate of 40 mL per minute. The column temperature is maintained at 250
and the injection port is maintained at 300
. Similarly inject 2.0 µL of a Standard solution of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-
p-dioxin containing 0.01 µg per mL.
* The sum of the peak heights at mass values of 320, 322, and 324 obtained from the solution under test is not greater than the sum of the peak heights at the same mass values obtained from the Standard solution. The limit is 1 ppb.