Hazardous substances. Determination of pentachlorophenol in toy paints

A simple procedure is described for the routine determination of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in various types of toy paints. PCP can be determined in water colors, body colors, showcard paints, gouache paints, and colored inks. PCP is extracted from the sample with acetone, followed by quantitative gas chromatographic analysis of the concentrated acetone extract on stainless steel columns containing 15% Carbo-wax 20M on 60-80 mesh Chromosorb P (AW). As little as 1 ppm PCP can be determined with recoveries ranging from 50 to 100%, depending on the type of paint. The presence of PCP in samples is confirmed by thin layer chromatography, using dansyl chloride as a fluorescent labeling compound. By this method as little as 4 ppm can be determined. The results of PCP determinations in 65 commerical samples are presented.