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Field testing of equilibrium passive samplers to determine freely dissolved native polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations
Author(s) -
Cornelissen Gerard,
Pettersen Arne,
Broman Dag,
Mayer Philipp,
Breedveld Gijs D.
Publication year - 2008
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 - 10.1897/07-253.1
Subject(s) - environmental chemistry , partition coefficient , hydrocarbon , chemistry , contamination , polydimethylsiloxane , partition equilibrium , sediment , polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon , environmental remediation , pore water pressure , analytical chemistry (journal) , equilibrium constant , chromatography , geology , organic chemistry , geotechnical engineering , ecology , paleontology , biology
Equilibrium passive samplers are promising tools to determine freely dissolved aqueous concentrations ( C W,free ) of hydrophobic organic compounds. Their use in the field, however, remains a challenge. In the present study on native polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Oslo Harbor, Norway, two different passive sampler materials, polyoxymethylene (POM; thickness, 55 μm [POM‐55] and 500 μm [POM‐500]) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS; thickness, 200 μm), were used to determine in the laboratory C W,free in sediment pore water ( C PW,free ), and the suitability of five passive samplers for determination of C W,free in overlying surface water was tested under field conditions. For laboratory determinations of C PW,free , both POM‐55 and PDMS turned out to be suitable. In the field, the shortest equilibrium times (approximately one month) were observed for POM‐55 and PDMS (thickness, 28 μm) coatings on solid‐phase microextraction fibers, with PDMS tubing as a good alternative. Low‐density polyethylene (thickness, 100 μm) and POM‐500 did not reach equilibrium within 119 d in the field. Realistic values were obtained for dissolved organic carbon–water partition coefficients in the field (approximately one log unit under log K OW ), which strengthened the conclusion that equilibrium was established in field‐exposed passive samplers. At all four stations, chemical activity ratios between pore water and overlying water were greater than one for all PAHs, indicating that the sediment was a PAH diffusion source and that sediment remediation may be an appropriate treatment for PAH contamination in Oslo Harbor.