PassiveSamplerSAMSFinalCameraReadyJan2013

iMentionoftradenamesorcommercialproductsinthisdocumentdoesnotconstitutetheU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency’sendorsementorrecommendationforuse.Contents1.Introduction.......................................................................................................12.Whyusepassivesamplers?Theadvantages..................................................23.Whatpassivesamplerstellus...........................................................................54.Typesofpassivesamplers................................................................................75.Sometheoryonhowpassivesamplerswork....................................................96.Preparing,deploying,recovering,andstoringpassivesamplers.....................117.Selectingpassivesamplers.............................................................................158.Analyzingpassivesamplerdata......................................................................159.Briefcasestudy...............................................................................................1910.Remainingscientificchallengesinusingpassivesamplers............................2011.USEPAcontactsworkingwithpassivesamplers...........................................2212.Summary.........................................................................................................2213.Acknowledgements.........................................................................................2414.Referencesusedinthisdocument.................................................................25AppendixA...........................................................................................................29GuidelinesforUsingPassiveSamplerstoMonitorOrganicContaminantsatSuperfundSedimentSitesUnitedStatesOfficeofSuperfundRemediationandOSWERDirective9200.1-110FSEnvironmentalProtectionTechnologyInnovation,andDecember2012AgencyOfficeofResearchandDevelopment11.IntroductionTheobjectiveofthisSedimentAssessmentandMonitoringSheet(SAMS)istoprovideintroductoryinformationontheuseofpassivesamplersatSuperfundsedimentsitescontaminatedwithhydrophobicorganiccontaminants.Theconceptofpassivesamplingintheenvironmentwasfirstdevelopedinthe1980s,andsamplersstartedtobedeployedinthefieldforresearchpurposesinthe1990s.Sincethen,passivesamplershavebeenusedformonitoringcontaminantconcentrationsinthewatercolumn,soilandsedimentinterstitialwaters,andairatsitesaroundtheworld.Theiruseinsedimentstodatehasbeenprimarilyforresearch,however.Asdiscussedbelow,passivesamplersareusefulnewtoolsforassessingcontaminantexposuresandevaluatingthepotentialforadverseenvironmentaleffectsatSuperfundsites.AfterreadingthisSAMS,userswillhaveafundamentalunderstandingofsomecommonpassivesamplersandtheirpotentialapplicationsatSuperfundsites.ThisSAMSdiscussespassivesamplersthatcanbeusedinbothwatercolumnandsedimentdeployments,andinsomecasesbothsimultaneously.Thesepassivesamplersusepolyethylene(PE),polyoxymethylene(POM),andsolidphasemicro-extraction(SPME)materials.Anothertypeofpassivesamplercalledsemi-permeablemembranedevices(SPMDs)havebeenusedprimarilyinthewatercolumnassurrogatesforbiotasuchasfish,butwillnotbediscussedhereinanydepth.Whendeployedtogether,passivesamplersplacedinthewatercolumnandinthesedimentcanprovideinformationaboutcontaminantgradientsbetweenthesedimentandthewater.Forexample,whenanengineeredcapisusedaspartofasitecleanup,passivesamplerscanbeusedasamonitoringtooltoevaluatethecontaminantfluxfromtheunderlyingcontaminatedsediment,intothecaplayersandintotheoverlyingwater.Passivesamplerscollectinformationaboutthedissolvedconcentrationsofcontaminants.Thedissolvedconcentrationisausefulmeasureoftheamountofcontaminantthatisbioavailabletoaquaticorganisms.Passivesamplersdonotprovideinformationabouttheconcentrationsofcontaminantsassociatedwithbedded,suspendedorcolloidalparticlesinaquaticsystemsandthereforedonotaddressdirectlythetransportofcontaminantsassociatedwithsuchparticles.Thefocusofthisdocumentisonasubsetofthosecontaminantsofconcern(COC)oftenfoundatSuperfundsitesthat,chemicallyspeaking,areknownasthehydrophobicornonionicorganicchemicals.Theseincludepolychlorinatedbiphenyls(PCBs),polycyclicaromatichydrocarbons(PAHs),polychlorinateddioxinsandfurans(PCDD/Fs)andchlorinatedpesticidessuchasDDT.Thesechemicalsareparticularlypersistentintheenvironmentandbioaccumulateinaquaticorganisms,oftendrivetherisksasSuperfundsedimentsites,andarethefocusofthisSAMS.MetalCOCsuchascadmium,copper,lead,mercuryandzincarenotdiscussed.Thereisagrowingscientificliteratureonusingothertypesofpassivesamplerstomonitormetals,butthefieldisnotasestablished,andthatworkisbeyondthescopeofthisSAMS.Thisdocumentbrieflydiscussestheuseofpassivesamplersbutdoesnotprovidespecificprotocolsondeploymentandrecovery,nordoesitdescribethechemicalanalysisproceduresforpassivesamplers(itisnotaU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency[EPA]standardmethodoroperatingprocedure).However,withtheincreasinguseofpassivesamplersatsitesaroundtheUnitedStatesandtheworld,thesetypesofspecializedprotocolsandproce