“…Chemicals and reagents were purchased from the following sources: PCB standards mixture (28,52,101,138,153,180), PCB 14, 15 and 209, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA, M w 13 000-23 000, 87-89% hydrolyzed), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA, >98%), 2,2 0 -azobis isobutyronitrile (AIBN), 4-vinylpyridine (4-VP, 95%), silver nitrate (AgNO 3 ), copper powder (<45 mm), Supelclean C18 SPE cartridges (6 mL, 500 mg, 51.7 mm, 490 m 2 g À1 ), and Supelclean sulfoxide SPE from Sigma-Aldrich (Steinheim, Germany); toluene, pesticide grade n-hexane ($99%), methanol, dichloromethane (DCM), acetone, chloroform, empty SPE cartridges (6 mL) and frits (20 mm porosity) from Carl Roth Chemicals (Karlsruhe, Germany); silica gel 60 0.063-0.200 mm (70-230 mesh), sulphuric acid (95-97%) from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany); and nitrogen (99.999%) for gas chromatography from MTI IndustrieGase AG (Neu-Ulm, Germany). EGDMA and 4-VP were distilled under reduced pressure before use to remove the inhibitors, while water used was puried using a Milli-Q academic lter system (Millipore, Billerica, USA).…”