Studies on the calibration and use of polyurethane foam (PUF) disk passive air samplers for persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Studies on the calibration and use of polyurethane foam (PUF) disk passive air samplers for persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

PCB and organochlorine pesticide burden in eels from the lower Thames

A speech given at the Joint Annual Meeting of the Ecotoxicology Research and Innovation Centre (ERIC) Plymouth University, and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) UK Branch, held at Plymouth University, Plymouth, 9-10 September 2013

The organic chemical contamination of eels in the lower Thames in 2007

The Environment Agency provided samples from 35 eels caught in autumn of 2007 in the River Thames between Sunbury and Molesey (upstream of the tidal limit) and in the Thames estuary around Woolwich. These were analysed for 14 organochlorine pesticides and by-products and 41 PCB congeners, including the seven frequently detected congeners commonly used as indicators for PCB contamination (ICES7). Most of the investigated chemicals were detectable in every one of the samples although they have all been banned or severely restricted many years ago. However, based on the measured chemicals, all the analysed eels would be considered safe to eat. For most of the chemicals determined, the levels in eels from the Sunbury to Molesey stretch were lower than from the estuary eels, but this can be largely explained by an overall higher fat content of the estuary individuals. Compared to bleak and roach caught in the Thames in the same year, eels had generally higher contamination for all chemicals with regards to fresh weight but, as with the site difference, the values were similar for all species once normalized to lipid content. The ICES7 indicator PCBs and the pesticide lindane (gamma-HCH) as well as the DDT degradation product DDE have been chosen for comparison with past data as these substances have been relatively frequently reported in the literature. ICES7 PCB contamination levels were fairly typical for recent UK eel data but lower than a few of the UK eel samples from the 1990s, whereas DDE and lindane contamination was lower than in the very few other UK eel studies that reported these chemicals. Compared to a recent European survey, the PCB contamination found in the eels is this study was approximately in the lower third of values. Although by no means as highly contaminated with persistent organic pollutants as some of the eels from previous UK and European studies, the presence of so many of these chemicals, with their known health effects in the 2007 Thames eels, may be a matter of concern for these fish, though perhaps not as significant as other issues, such as parasites

Screening for PFOS and PFOA in European air using passive samplers

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) have been widely detected in the environment and in wildlife, including biota in remote areas, such as the Arctic. A monitoring programme to measure these two compounds in the atmosphere simultaneously at many sites using traditional sampling techniques (active air sampler) would be difficult to achieve. This study presents the results of using polyurethane foam-based passive air samplers (PUF-PASs) to sample ionic perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFASs) in three different areas: northwest of England (15 sites), UK-Norway transect (11 sites) and European survey (23 sites), for 2-3 months of exposure. Only PFOA and PFOS were regularly detected in the samplers. PFOA (200-27000 pg per sample per day) and PFOS (1.5-720 pg per sample per day) levels present in samplers deployed in northwest of England were estimated in this study. In the UK-Norway transect campaign, only the UK samples were found to contain PFOA (100-1200 pg per sample per day) and PFOS (2.7-7.7 pg per sample per day). It was difficult to see clear distribution trends of PFOA (4.7-540 pg per sample per day) and PFOS (1.9-69 pg per sample per day) in the EU survey. However, PFOA appeared relatively elevated in samples taken close to the coastline of the North Sea. This study gives some encouragement to the idea that PUF-PAS can be used to sample PFASs. From our knowledge, this is the first study using untreated PUF disks to sample ionic PFASs in the atmosphere

A study of aerosol entrapment and the influence of wind speed, chamber design and foam density on polyurethane foam passive air samplers used for persistent organic pollutants.

Polyurethane foam disks are a cheap and versatile tool for sampling persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from the air in ambient, occupational and indoor settings. This study provides important background information on the ways in which the performance of these commonly used passive air samplers may be influenced by the key environmental variables of wind speed and aerosol entrapment. Studies were performed in the field, a wind tunnel and with microscopy techniques, to investigate deployment conditions and foam density influence on gas phase sampling rates (not obtained in this study) and aerosol trapping. The study showed: wind speed inside the sampler is greater on the upper side of the sampling disk than the lower side and tethered samplers have higher wind speeds across the upper and lower surfaces of the foam disk at a wind speed 4 m/s; particles are trapped on the foam surface and within the body of the foam disk; fine (<1 um) particles can form clusters of larger size inside the foam matrix. Whilst primarily designed to sample gas phase POPs, entrapment of particles ensures some sampling of particle bound POPs species, such as higher molecular weight PAHs and PCDD/Fs. Further work is required to investigate how quantitative such entrapment or sampling is under different ambient conditions, and with different aerosol sizes and types

Validation of a passive atmospheric deposition sampler for polybrominated diphenyl ethers.

An atmospheric deposition sampler was validated with respect to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a compound group that is widely used as flame retardants in many types of consumer products. The deposition sampler consists of an adsorption cartridge that is connected to a glass funnel. Extraction tests with spiked cartridges using soxhlet extraction with acetone revealed recoveries of >80% for all of the investigated PBDEs. Once adsorbed, PBDEs are stable, as proven by extractions of spiked cartridges that were stored outdoors and collected after different periods of time, up to 84 days. High recoveries indicate that degradation of adsorbed PBDEs does not play a role under realistic field conditions. Bulk deposition rates of PBDEs were determined in a field test with 3 replicates, and a possible breakthrough of target compounds was assessed in the field using a second adsorption cartridge in series. No breakthrough of target compounds could be observed within a sampling period of 61 days, and a bulk deposition rate of approximately 1 ng m–2 day–1 for the sum of all analysed PBDEs was measured. The highest deposition rates were measured for octa-brominated congeners, followed by BDEs 99, 183, 153, and 47. Overall, the sampler was successfully validated regarding the atmospheric deposition of PBDEs