HRGC separation of PCB congeners

High resolution gas chromatography has greatly changed the field of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) analysis. From a rough estimation of the total PCB concentration on packed column GC, the development of commercially available fused silica capillary columns in the late 1970s and early 1980s has advanced the analysis of PCBs to a point where they can be accurately measured as separated congeners. The state‐of‐the‐art of PCB analysis in the 1990s is routine isomer‐specific analysis with multi‐column techniques using long (<50 m) narrow (> 0.25 mm) columns. A broad spectrum of commercially available stationary phases have been completely characterized with regard to their PCB elution profiles.