Comparative GC/MS and LC/MS detection of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) in soil and water samples

Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) is a crucial additive flame retardant (FR) for FR Polystyrene insulation foams (both expandable (EPS) as well as extrudable polystyrene (XPS)), polystyrene masterbatches and textile FR coatings. The total consumption of HBCD within the European Union (EU) is estimated to be about 10,000 tons out of 16,700 worldwide per year. The technical HBCD product usually is a mixture of the three diastereoisomers {alpha}-, {beta}- and {gamma}-HBCD with the {gamma}- isomer as main component. Compared to other flame retardants only few data on HBCD levels in the environment have been published. Within this study a series of soil and water samples from HBCD processing plants was analysed by GC/MS (LRMS-EI). Besides GC/MS, also liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC/MS) is often used for HBCD detection in environmental samples. Whilst GC/MS only provides information about the total of the three HBCD isomers, LC/MS is able to selectively monitor and quantify the three components. On the other hand GC/MS usually has the advantage of a higher sensitivity. In order to verify the GC/MS results and to check the comparability to LC/MS analytical data, five soil and five water samples showing a wide range of HBCD concentrations were analysed by using both techniques. The comparative analyses by means of LC/MS confirmed the HBCD identification and quantification of the GC/MS. The differences between the total HBCD results of the GC/MS and the LC/MS analyses were less than 24%. The {gamma}- isomer proved to be the main HBCD diastereoisomer in the soil and water samples tested.