[Genotoxicity of stack gas condensates of Bavarian waste incineration plants. I. Stack gas condensate--sample collection techniques].

Investigations into the toxicity and the chemical analytics of stack gas condensates from 21 waste incineration plants (locations in Bavaria) were undertaken in the years 1990 to 1995. A decisive prerequisite was the development of a simple, standardizable technique for sample collection. It was done by condensating stack gases at 0 to 5 degrees C in an intensive glass condensator. Certain types of compounds showed a different behaviour of separation at the temperatures which were used. Whereas bivalent ionic mercury and chlorophenols were comparatively well separated with amounts of 60 to 95% and the polychlorinated dioxins, furans and biphenyls (PCBs) were sufficiently separated with 20 to 60%, less than 10% of the chlorobenzenes and polycyclic aromatics (PAHs) were found in the condensates. Sufficiently sensitive biological test procedures must be chosen for a biomonitoring of the condensates on geno- and immunotoxic effects to keep the required quantity of the condensates within practicable limits. The concentration of organic wastes was done through a solid phase extraction for the genotoxicity testing in the period from 1990 to 1991, and uniformly through a dichloromethane extraction for the biological and the simultaneous chemical analytical investigations from 1992 to 1995.