ABSTRACT
A portion of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) municipal incinerator fly ash material was obtained in order to provide an environmental carbonaceous type matrix for testing. This type of sample historically has required toluene or benzene extraction with Soxhlet apparatus to remove adsorbed dioxins and dibenzofurans. A modified extraction solvent system and procedure (similar to that specified in the published RCRA Method 8280 for chemical wastes) was developed, drawing also upon other Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) experience in dioxin analysis for guidance. A 50-ng spike of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) was added, and extraction was performed as specified in the unrevised Method 8280. Native Missouri soil samples, environmentally contaminated with 2,3,7,8-TCDD and interferences such as polychlorinated biphenyl, were obtained from the EPA Contract Laboratory Program. A still bottom sample from a chlorophenol production process was obtained from the EPA.
