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Application of passive samplers (pisces) to locating a source of PCBs on the Black River, New York
Author(s) -
Litten Simon,
Mead Berton,
Hassett John
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620120405
Subject(s) - environmental science , fish <actinopterygii> , passive sampling , sampling (signal processing) , polychlorinated biphenyl , environmental chemistry , extraction (chemistry) , water source , fishery , chemistry , biology , computer science , chromatography , water resource management , statistics , mathematics , filter (signal processing) , computer vision , calibration
Dissolved hydrophobic chemicals can be concentrated with a passive, in situ concentration‐extraction sampler (PISCES), an inexpensive and easy‐to‐use device made from plumbing parts and polyethylene film. PISCES is intended to mimic the direct uptake of chemicals from water by fish without the complications of metabolism and the uncertainty of location of exposure. This report examines the practical application of PISCES to a problem in identifying the source of PCBs to the Black River (NY). PISCES were deployed on three occasions at stations throughout the length of the river. Solvent recovered from the PISCES was analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners. Relative homolog abundances and absolute amount of recovered PCBs pointed to a particular river reach as a possible source. A fourth set of samples taken in the city of Carthage (NY) defined a plausible source. Conventional sampling methods would not have been effective in this situation.