Determination of semi-volatile priority pollutants in landfill leachates and sediments using microwave-assisted headspace solid-phase microextraction

The present work was focused on the development of a simple method aimed at the determination of 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 15 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in landfill leachates and sediments by adapting a domestic microwave oven to perform microwave-assisted headspace solid-phase microextraction (MA-HS-SPME) followed by gas chromatographic separation and tandem mass spectrometric detection. Good linearity was observed within the concentration range studied; detection limits ranged from 0.1 ng/l to 7 ng/l for PCBs and from 5 ng/l to 926 ng/l for PAHs. Concerning precision, the relative standard deviations obtained were, on average for the leachate and sediment samples analysed, 18% for PCBs and 20% for PAHs. Average recovery values were 37% and 76% for PCBs, and 58% and 48% for PAHs, respectively, for the leachate and reference sediment studied. The method allows the determination of PAHs and PCBs in landfill leachates and sediments, avoiding clean-up steps and the consumption of organic solvents.