This document specifies a method for quantitative determination of 17 2,3,7,8-chlorine substituted dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in sludge, treated biowaste and soil using liquid column chromatographic clean-up methods and gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS). Detection by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) can be used in an equivalent way.

The analytes that can be determined with the method specified in this document are listed in Table 1.

The limit of detection depends on the kind of sample, the congener, the equipment used and the quality of chemicals used for extraction and clean-up. Under the conditions specified in this document, limits of detection better than 1 ng/kg (expressed as dry matter) can be achieved.

This method is “performance based”. The method can be modified if all performance criteria given in this method are met.

This document is applicable for several types of matrices and validated for municipal sludge (see also Annex D for the results of the validation).

NOTE            In principle, this method can also be applied for sediments, mineral wastes and for vegetation. It is the responsibility of the user of this document to validate the application for these matrices. For measurement in complex matrices such as fly ashes adsorbed on vegetation, it can be necessary to further improve the clean-up. This can also apply to sediments and mineral wastes.