Technical Bulletin No. 0397: A Comparison of Results from the Analysis of Pulp Mill Effluents for Compounds of Pulpmill and Bleach Plant Origin

A significant portion of the National Council's investigative programs was devoted to analytical measurements evaluation, comparison, development and suitability for use in the forest products industry. The samples analyzed were collected as part of an EPA-funded study carried out by BCRC which was in part designed to (a) determine the effectiveness of biological treatment processes in the reduction of compounds of pulp mill and bleach plant origin, and (b) determine if the BCRC chemical analysis procedure was a suitable surrogate for estimating the outcome of fish bioassay tests. For the National Council, it provided the opportunity to compare a commonly used analytical methodology in the US involving solvent extraction and subsequent analysis by gas chromatography or gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, with a methodology featuring resin concentration of the compounds of interest followed by desorption and analysis by capillary column gas chromatography.