The application of gas chromatography to environmental analysis

Nowadays, gas chromatography (GC) continues to play an important role in the identification and quantification of ubiquitous pollutants in the environment. The present article describes current state-of-the-art capillary GC in the analysis of various classes of persistent organic contaminants in air, water, soils, sediments and biota. Special attention is given to sample-preparation techniques. The organic pollutant groups covered in this review are: volatile organic compounds (VOCs); polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); pesticides; and, halogenated compounds. These last include polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, polychlorinated biphenyl, terphenyls, naphthalenes and alkanes, organochlorine pesticides, and the brominated flame retardants, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenylethers. The use of capillary-GC columns, the type of column, the need for multi-dimensional GC techniques, and the advantages and limitations of the available detection systems for the analysis of these compounds are discussed. Trends and future perspectives of capillary GC in the field of environmental analysis are also commented on and discussed. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.