ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with the possibility of polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDFs), and other organic and inorganic compounds entering the environment through the leaching of municipal incinerator flyash into water. To simulate the conditions by which flyash comes into contact with water, a Soxhlet extraction of flyash using water as solvent was chosen because of its simulation of the circulation of rainwater in nature and because of its efficient use of a small volume of water and minimum glass surface. The analytical results for organic compounds in the water extracts show that PCDDs and PCDFs enter water through leaching in minimum quantities. The chapter includes identification of other organic compounds that were leached from the flyash into the water extracts. Identification of these organic compounds was accomplished using the techniques of GC/FID, GC/EIMS, GC/ PICIMS, and GC/NICIMS.
