Analytical and confirmative techniques for dibenzo-p-dioxins based upon their cation radicals.

A large number of analytical methods for the detection of chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins have been reported in the past few years (1-8) ; generally, these methods involve the use of gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) or GLC coupled with mass spectrometry (MS). Detection limits of about 1 ng have been reported for GLC-MS techniques with the demonstrated capability of detecting these compounds in the picogram range by use of special techniques. One of the disad- vantages of such techniques, at least for confirmative purposes, appears to be the in- ability to distinguish between positional iso- mers by MS as well as the inaccessibility to many analysts of the expensive equipment involved.