Application of solid phase micro extraction for the rapid analysis of chlorinated organics in breast milk

The method presented here allows the monitoring of persistent organochlorine compounds in breast milk using the solid phase microextraction technique (SPME) and gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD). It describes the determination of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), alpha-, beta-, and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its derivatives, and some important congeners of the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB). Also included are more polar substances such as tri-, tetra- and penta-chlorophenols, which can be analyzed simultaneously with the afore-mentioned less polar compounds without the need of a derivatization for the determination of the phenolic compounds. The reproducibility of the results is very good down to the lower mu g/L-region. The method is very fast and of low cost compared to the classic extraction and determination procedures.