PARENT SESSION
WA4 - Passive Samplers for POPs
Chair: Harner, Tom1, 1 Environment Canada, Downsview, ON
Co-chair: Jones, Kevin2, 2 Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ
8:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Wednesday, 20 November 2002
Room Ballroom F
(520) Passive Air Sampling Survey for POPs across Europe.
Farrar, Nick*,1, Sweetman, Andy1, Jaward, Foday1, Harner, Tom2, Jones, Kevin1, 1 Environmental Science Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK2 Meteorological Service of Canada, Air Quality Research Branch, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
ABSTRACT- A continental scale multi-media fate and behaviour model for persistent organic chemicals in Europe has been developed at Lancaster Univeristy, UK. The model structure has been adapted from an existing North American model, developed jointly by the University of California (Berkeley) and Trent University (Canada) - BETR North America. These models are a fully dynamic fugacity based linked multi-compartment regional mass balance solution to chemical fate. In order to provide assessment of the models predictive capabilities for ambient air concentrations, a simultaneous air sampling programme has been carried out with deployment across Europe. This study utilised two types of passive air sampling devices deployed throughout Europe. PolyUrethane Foam (PUF) discs and POlymer coated Glass jars (POGs) were chosen as they provided time integrated ambient air sampling on two time scales. The POGs consist of a glass surface, approximately 70mm in diameter, coated with a thin layer of EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) polymer, whilst the PUF disks measure 14cm x 1.2 cm. Both sampler types were deployed in stainless steel chambers designed to reduced/normalise the flow of wind across the sampler surface and protect the sampler from UV radiation and rain. The use of PUF discs and the POGs for environmental sampling (primarily air and water) has been developed by Dr Frank Gobas (Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Ca) and Dr Tom Harner (MSC, Toronto, Ca). By exploiting the uptake/equilibrium kinetics of these two samplers (deployment times were 1 week for POGs and six weeks for PUF discs) short and long term integration of air concentrations were achieved. The results showed that both POGs and PUF discs are suitable for monitoring ambient air concentrations for a range of POPs, many of which have global interest.
Key words: passive, air, sampling, POPs