Capillary gas chromatography (GC) combined with on-column radio frequency plasma atomic emission detection was evaluated for the determination of polychlorinated and polybrominated biphenyls (PCBs and PBBs). Quantitation was possible utilizing a single chlorine or bromine calibration curve based on a randomly selected reference compound, because the signal per ng of halogen ranged within 17 % for 29 congeners. Combined with an internal standard to correct for potential plasma quenching from matrix components, this type of universal quantitation represented a substantial simplification of current calibration procedures. In combination with relatively low detection limits (1-5 pg/s of halogen), the present work suggested that GC, coupled with on-column atomic emission detection is a promising technique for the determination of halogenated micropollutants.