Methods

The methods listed below are recognized in the field of environmental analysis as functional and prominent references for the analysis of legacy and emerging environmental pollutants.  This is by no means a comprehensive list, but may serve as a useful foundation when developing in-house methods.

Methods are divided by compound class and then appear in order of their publication/issue date.

Wellington Laboratories Methods

Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins (PCDDs), Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

  • Environment Canada Reference Method 1/RM/3:
    A Method for the Analysis of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-para-Dioxins (PCDDs), Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Samples from the Incineration of PCB Waste – May 1990
  • U.S. EPA Method 513:
    Determination of 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in Drinking Water by Gas Chromatography with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry – July 1990
  • California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board Method 428:
    Determination of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD), Polychlorinated Dibenzofuran (PCDF), and Polychlorinated Biphenyl Emissions from Stationary Sources – September 1990
  • Environment Canada Report EPS 1/RM/19:
    Reference Method for the Determination of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-para-dioxins (PCDDs) and Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in Pulp and Paper Mill Effluents – February 1992
  • Environment Canada Report EPS 1/RM/23:
    Internal Quality Assurance Requirements for the Analysis of Dioxins in Environmental Samples – October 1992
  • U.S. EPA Method 1613B:
    Tetra- through Octa-Chlorinated Dioxins and Furans by Isotope Dilution HRGC/HRMS – Revision B – October 1994
  • U.S. EPA Method 23:
    Determination of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans from Stationary Sources – September 1995
  • Environment Canada Report EPS 1/RM/31:
    Reference Method for the Analysis of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) – March 1997
  • U.S. EPA Method 1668:
    Toxic Polychlorinated Biphenyls by Isotope Dilution High Resolution Gas Chromatography/High Resolution Mass Spectrometry – March 1997
  • U.S. EPA Method 8290A:
    Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans (PCDFs) by High-Resolution Gas Chromatography/High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) – Revision 1 – January 1998
  • U.S. EPA Method TO-9A:
    Determination of Polychlorinated, Polybrominated And Brominated/Chlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins And Dibenzofurans in Ambient Air – January 1999
  • International Standard ISO 18073:
    Water quality – Determination of tetra- to octa-chlorinated dioxins and furans – Method using isotope dilution HRGC/HRMS – April 2004
  • European Standard EN 1948-1:2006:
    Stationary source emissions – Determination of the mass concentration of PCDDs/PCDFs and dioxin-like PCBs – Part 1: Sampling of PCDDs/PCDFs – March 2006
  • European Standard EN 1948-2:2006:
    Stationary source emissions – Determination of the mass concentration of PCDDs/PCDFs and dioxin-like PCBs – Part 2: Extraction and clean-up of PCDDs/PCDFs – March 2006
  • European Standard EN 1948-3:2006:
    Stationary source emissions – Determination of the mass concentration of PCDDs/PCDFs and dioxin-like PCBs – Part 3: Identification and quantification of PCDDs/PCDFs – March 2006
  • U.S. EPA Method 8280B:
    Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans (PCDFs) by High-Resolution Gas Chromatography/Low-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRGC/LRMS) – Revision 2 – February 2007
  • International Standard ISO 17858:
    Water quality – Determination of dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls – Method using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry – February 2007
  • Japanese Industrial Standard JIS K 0311:2005:
    Method for Determination of Tetra- Through Octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxins, Tetra- through Octachlorodibenzofurans and Dioxin-Like Polychlorinatedbiphenyls in Stationary Source Emissions – January 2008
  • Japanese Industrial Standard JIS K 0312:2005:
    Method for Determination of Tetra- Through Octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxins, Tetra- through Octachlorodibenzofurans and Dioxin-Like Polychlorinatedbiphenyls in Industrial Water and Waste Water – January 2008
  • U.S. EPA Method 1668C:
    Chlorinated Biphenyl Congeners in Water, Soil, Sediment, Biosolids, and Tissue by HRGC/HRMS – April 2010
  • European Standard EN 1948-4:2010+A1:
    Stationary source emissions – Determination of the mass concentration of PCDDs/PCDFs and dioxin-like PCBs – Part 4: Sampling and analysis of dioxin-like PCBs – December 2013
  • European Standard EN 16215:
    Animal feeding stuffs – Determination of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs by GC/HRMS and of indicator PCBs by GC/HRMS – April 2012
  • EU Commission Regulation 589/2014:
    Laying down methods of sampling and analysis for the control of levels of dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and non-dioxin-like PCBs in certain foodstuffs and repealing Regulation (EU) No 252/2012 – June 2014

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)

  • U.S. EPA Method 527:
    Determination of Selected Pesticides and Flame Retardants in Drinking Water by Solid Phase Extraction and Capillary Column Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) – April 2005
  • International Standard ISO 22032:
    Water quality – Determination of selected polybrominated diphenyl ethers in sediment and sewage sludge – Method using extraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry – December 2006
  • U.S. EPA Method 1614:
    Brominated Diphenyl Ethers in Water Soil, Sediment and Tissue by HRGC/HRMS – August 2007

Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs)

  • International Standard ISO 25101:2009:
    Water quality – Determination of perfluorooctansulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) – Method for unfiltered samples using solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry – March 2009
  • U.S. EPA Method 537:
    Determination of Selected Perfluorinated Alkyl Acids in Drinking Water by Solid Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) – September 2009
  • U.S. EPA Method 537.1:
    Determination of Selected Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances in Drinking Water by Solid Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) – November 2018
  • International Standard ISO 21675:2019:
    Water quality — Determination of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water — Method using solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) – October 2019
  • U.S. EPA Method 533:
    Determination of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Drinking Water by Isotope Dilution Anion Exchange Solid Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry – November 2019
  • U.S. EPA Method 8327:
    Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) by Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) – July 2021
  • U.S. EPA Method 1633 (Draft 3):
    Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Aqueous, Solid, Biosolids, and Tissue Samples by LC-MS/MS – December 2022