ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the literature and discusses applicable extraction techniques by matrix. It discusses solvent evaporation, losses of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) through sorption onto glass containers, and sources of contamination. Reliable trace organic analysis begins with the quantitative extraction of the analytes from the sample matrix. Many of the extraction techniques discussed in the literature are derived from traditional pesticide analytical methods, and their adaptation to PCB analysis was made with little or no reported research or validation. Thus, most of the PCB extraction techniques discussed in this chapter may be best described as workable, but not optimized. PCB extractions generally rely on a favorable partition of the PCBs from the sample matrix into the extraction matrix. Extraction of PCBs from water is generally straightforward, since the solubility is so low. With the solid-phase extraction technique, a water sample is passed through a sorbent column, filter, or disk where the PCBs and other organics are "extracted" onto the sorbent.
