PASSIVE AIR SAMPLING OF PCBS - FIELD CALCULATION OF ATMOSPHERIC SAMPLING RATES BY TRIOLEIN-CONTAINING SEMIPERMEABLE-MEMBRANE DEVICES

Triolein-containing standard U.S. Geological Survey(USGS) designed sem ipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) were deployed in the field alongsi de conventional active air sampling equipment for durations of up to 3 months. A high degree of reproductibility between duplicate samples a nd linear uptake of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by the USGS SPMDs were observed. USGS SPMD air sampling rates were calculated for a ran ge of PCBs. Sampling rates were found to be higher in winter than in s ummer and in general increased with increasing chlorination and decrea sed with increasing ortho-substitution, The sampling rate for the sum of the ICES congeners (IUPAC congeners 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, and 180) was found to be 1.9 m(3) day(-1) SPMD-1 in summer (mean temperat ure 18 degrees C) and 7.6 m(3) day(-1) SPMD-1 in winter(mean temperatu re 4 degrees C). In a separate study USGS SPMDs were deployed for 2 mo nths, and sequestered concentrations and the aforementioned sampling r ates were used to calculate atmospheric concentrations. Excellent agre ement was found between air concentrations calculated from the SPMDs a nd active samplers. The immense potential of these lipid-containing US GS SPMDs for time-integrated passive atmospheric monitoring of gas-pha se persistent organic pollutants (POPs), for example, in remote areas or for spatial mapping near potential sources, is confirmed.