Determination of PCBs in river sediment samples—proficiency test for selected Polish laboratories

Eighteen Polish laboratories participated in a proficiency test for the determination of PCBs in river sediment. The participants used their in-house method. The aim of the exercise was to obtain information about the “state of the art” of PCB analysis in environmental samples. Five PCBs (IUPAC nos. 52, 118, 138, 153 and 180) were selected for the test. The relative standard deviation of the analytical results submitted varied from 45 to 65%, with an outlier rate of 7%. The averages of the results for all analytes were in good agreement with reference values.