Determination of C10-chloroalkane residues in fish matrices by short column gas chromatography/electron capture negative ion low resolution mass spectrometry applying single pure and representative synthesised chlorodecanes as standards

Abstract A new chlorodecane (CD) standard was developed consisting of five single compounds with 5–9 Cl-atoms, with which it was possible to determine chlorodecane residues in fish matrices from different countries using short column gas chromatography/electron capture negative ion low resolution mass spectrometry (SCGC/ECNI-LRMS). The concentrations found were between 4.8 and 30.2 ng/g fat. Pentachlorodecanes could not be detected in all samples. For an evaluation of the new CD-standard, the fish matrices were also quantified by several other polychlorinated decane (CP10) standards with different chlorine grade: 50, 55, 63.5, 65, and 70%. The concentrations found differed unsurprisingly considerable among the applied standards. Considering only these CP10:50–70% standards that showed the highest similarity in peak patterns with the fish samples, the differences in observed chlorodecane concentrations between these standards and the new CD-standard were low, varying only 1–16%. The CP10:50–70% standards were further quantified with the new CD-standard (chlorine content, 58.2%) with neglectable observed differences to the CP10:60, 63.5, and 65% standards. Highest differences were observed to the CP10:50, 55, and 70% standards. By this work, the quantification of eco-toxicologically relevant C10-chloroparaffins using the new CD-standard has led to reproducible and reliable results, which indicates further that these compounds are still a concerning class of substances in environmental fish samples.