Requirement for a standardized nomenclature criterium for PCBs: Computer-assisted assignment of correct congener denomination and numbering

Due to the great number of congeners, the use of the correct nomenclature for PCBs is a difficult task, and unfortunately errors in the assignment of chemical denominations are not unusual. We suggest in this paper to correctly apply the rules initially introduced by Ballschmiter and Zell in 1980, which differ from those of the IUPAC. A simple algorithm in BASIC was created to help researchers in this field to denominate all the 209 congeners by their correct Ballschmiter and Zell and/or IUPAC systematic names.