Ruriko Sakai*, Masahiro Osako**, Yukihiro Yoshida***, Naoki Haga***, Kiyoshi Iwashima* and Masaru Tanaka**

* Environmental Control Center Co. Ltd., The Institute of Basic Environmental Research
** National Institute of Public Health, Waste Engineering Dept.
*** Environmental Control Center Co. Ltd., Analytical Center

+ Correspondence should be addressed to Ruriko Sakai:
(323-1, Shimo-ongata-machi, Hachiohji, Tokyo 192-01 Japan)

Abstract

To date, it has been financially difficult to control and suppress dioxins generated in all stages of the waste treatment and disposal, largely because the analysis cost of dioxins by GC/MS is more expensive. For this reason, as one easy, rapid and cost-effective screening method, the applicability of Enzyme Immuno Assay (EIA) for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) was studied in this report. The sensitivity, reproducibility and concentration dependence in the dioxin EIA were investigated and confirmed. Standard-addition experiments to crude fly ash extract samples suggested something to influence upon EIA. Consequently, an EIA analysis at each stage of the clean-up process was investigated, and showed that there were no significant differences in data between the crude extracts and the refined samples. This indicated that crude extracts could be used for EIA. In the fly ash and stack gas sample EIA results, the data correlated to the TEQ value obtained by GC/MS analysis. However, there were some independent influences from dioxin amounts found in extracts of lower concentration samples. It was concluded that EIA would be a useful screening method for dioxins if rapid and easy extraction methods for removing abstructions were developed.

Key words: Enzyme Immunoassay, dioxins, screening method, GC/MS analysis, TEQ value