Journal article
Resolving Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congener Coelutions: A Case Study in Environmental Air Samples
ACS ES&T air, Vol.2(10), pp.2162-2174
10/10/2025
DOI: 10.1021/acsestair.5c00137
Abstract
Reported analytical data for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as other chemical classes, often include unresolved coelutions, which inhibits an accurate quantitative determination of individual compounds. Unresolved congener coelutions add uncertainty in the interpretation of PCB exposures and associated health risks. To address this important data gap, we developed a quantitative approach to resolving PCB coelutions. In commonly used analytical methods, PCB congeners may coelute within the same analytical peak, with peaks typically containing 2–3 congeners. Importantly, the presence and composition of PCB congener coelutions varies across analytical and experimental methods. We leveraged this variation, creating a data set of 151 air studies from existing literature that reported measures for multiple individual PCB congeners. We then developed and applied a novel modeling framework that generates congener proportion estimates for each individual congener within 172 PCB coelution groupings identified in our review. This approach for resolving coelutions will be useful in a variety of applications, including exposure assessments and estimates of flux. More broadly, these data will be imperative for PCB risk and hazard assessments designed to address the potential differences in impacts to human health and the environment based on the individual congeners present in PCB mixtures.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Resolving Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congener Coelutions: A Case Study in Environmental Air Samples
- Creators
- Chelsea A. Weitekamp - Environmental Protection AgencyTodd J. Zurlinden - National Center for Environmental Assessment (EPA)Alexandra L. Lee - National Center for Environmental Assessment (EPA)Alexis Lashbaugh - Georgetown UniversityKent Thomas - National Center for Environmental Assessment (EPA)Rachel M. Shaffer - Environmental Protection AgencyAndres Martinez - University of IowaRachel F. Marek - University of IowaKeri C. Hornbuckle - University of IowaKrista Christensen - Environmental Protection AgencyGeniece M. Lehmann - National Center for Environmental Assessment (EPA)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- ACS ES&T air, Vol.2(10), pp.2162-2174
- DOI
- 10.1021/acsestair.5c00137
- ISSN
- 2837-1402
- eISSN
- 2837-1402
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 07/31/2025
- Date published
- 10/10/2025
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering; Occupational and Environmental Health; IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Human Toxicology; Iowa Superfund Research Program
- Record Identifier
- 9984944729202771
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