Passive sampling for the monitoring of organic pollutants (PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs) in ambient air has received increased attention in the last two decades. However, the accuracy of the concentration of organics obtained with passive samplers under varying environmental conditions is a subject of controversy. In this study, effect of ambient temperature on passive samplers was evaluated by using three different sampler configurations. Additionally, passive samplers with polyurethane disks (PUF) were applied throughout the Island for the determination of the airborne concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The passive samplers were deployed in seven municipalities for three-month periods in two different sampling campaigns, representing hurricane and non-hurricane seasons. Here we present preliminary results obtained from those sampling campaigns. The total concentrations of 15 PAHs varied from 3.1 to 19.6 and from 5.5 to 38.5 ng/m3 for hurricane and non-hurricane seasons, respectively. Hurricane and non-hurricane season concentrations of PAH were significantly different for the samples taken in the northern municipalities of the Island. However, there was no significant difference in PAH concentrations between the hurricane and non-hurricane seasons for the southern sites. Increased rainfall and high-relative humidity during the hurricane season had an influence on the concentrations of PAHs derived by the passive PUF sampler.
References
[1]
A. Motelay-Massei, T. Harner, M. Shoeib, M. Diamond, G. Stern and B. Rosenberg, “Using Passive Air Samplers to Assess Urban-Rural Trends for Persistent Organic Pollut- ants and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. 2. Seasonal Trends for PAHs, PCBs, and Organochlorine Pesticides,” Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 39, 2005, pp. 5763–5773. doi:10.1021/es0504183
[2]
F. M. Jaward, N. J Farrar, T. Harner, A. J. Sweetmanand and K.C.Jones, Environment Sciencean Technoogy, Vol. 38, No. 1, 2004, pp. 34-41.
doi:10.1021/es034705n
[3]
P. Bohlin, K. Jones, H. Tovalin and B. Strandberg, “Observations on Persistent Organic Pollutants in Indoor and Outdoor Air Using Pas-sive Polyurethane Foam Samplers. Atmospheric Envi-ronment, Vol.42, No. 31, 2008, pp. 7234-7241.doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.07.012
[4]
USEPA, Provisional Guidance for Quantitative Risk As- sessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, EPA/600/ R-93/089, US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Wash-ington, DC, 1993.
[5]
G. C. Fang, Y. S. Wu, M. H. Chen, T. T. Ho, S. H. Huang and J. Y. Rau, “Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Study in Taichung, Taiwan, during 2002-2003,” Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 38, 2004, pp. 3385-3391.
doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.03.036
[6]
M. E. Bart-kow, K. Booij, K. E. Kennedy, J. F. Muller and D. W. Hawker, “Passive Air Sampling Theory for Semivolatile Organic Compounds,” Chemosphere, Vol. 60, 2005, pp. 170–176.
doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2004.12.033
[7]
E. Santia-go and M. Cayetano, “Polycyclic Aromatic Hy- drocar-bons in Ambient Air in the Philippines Derived from Passive Sampler with Polyurethane Foam Disk,” Atmos-pheric Environment, Vol. 41, No. 19, 2007, pp. 4138-4147.doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.01.021
[8]
N. Vardar, F. Esen and Y. Tasdemir, “Seasonal Con- cen-trations and Partitioning of PAHs in a Suburban Site of Bursa, Turkey,” Environmental Pollution, Vol. 155, 2008, pp. 298-307. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2007.11.026
[9]
T. Gouin, L. Jantunen, T. Harner, P. Blanchard and T. Bidleman, “Spatial and Temporal Trends of Chiral Organochlorine Signatures in Great Lakes Air Using Passive Air Samplers,” Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 41, 2007, pp. 3877–3883. doi:10.1021/es063015r
