Recent developments in the analysis of chlorinated paraffins

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs), also known as polychlorinated n-alkanes (PCAs), are industrial contaminants, which are persistent, toxic and bioaccumulative. The quantitative analysis of these compounds is very demanding due to the great complexity of their technical mixtures. However, considerable improvements in the analytical techniques have been made in recent years. This article critically reviews the developments reported between 2000 and 2005 and selected older works. It covers practical aspects of analysis, describes different extraction and clean-up techniques, and compares different detection methods with emphasis on mass spectrometry, as well as quantification procedures. We also discuss the advantages and the limitations of the different techniques. Finally, we summarize recently reported environmental concentrations.