2,3,6,7- TETRACHLORINATED BIPHENYLENE (2,3,6,7 - TeCBP): A KEY ROLE COMPOUND IN FIRES OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

Polychlorinated aromatic compounds as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have a significant history of environmental monitoring1. It is known that when fires or explosions involve electrical systems, together with PCDDs and PCDFs, polychlorinated biphenylenes (PCBPs) are also produced. These chlorinated tricyclic aromatic pollutants were object of interest in the mid-80s when their formation process and their physical, chemical and structural properties were studied. They were noticed in the rubble of an office building fire in 19814 and after the destruction of the World Trade Center, however the absence of the corresponding standards, associated with the analytical difficulties in developing an efficient method, have limited the knowledge of the environmental distribution of PCBPs and the possibility of their monitoring. Today, especially in the light of the toxicological findings, 2,3,6,7-TeCBP was found to be equipotent with 2,3,7,8-TeCDD, PCBPs call for more accurate investigations. Here, for the first time, a study entirely focused on 2,3,6,7-TeCBP concentration, distribution and persistence in the air matrix is reported. In detail, 2,3,6,7-TeCBP concentration was investigated after a fire broke out in an extended industrial building by using a robust analytical method previously developed by our group.