Acta Chimica Slovaca (ACS) publishes papers on fundamental and applied aspects of chemistry, biochemistry, chemical technology, chemical engineering and process control, biotechnology and food technology. Welcome are also topics which include chemical aspects of materials, physical chemistry and chemical physics, analytical chemistry, macromolecular chemistry and biomedical engineering.

Monitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Portsmouth Harbour, United Kingdom, using the Chemcatcher® passive sampling devices

Tomáš Lobpreis, Ewa Łopuchin a, Branislav Vrana b, Katarína Dercová, Graham A. Mills c, Richard Greenwood d

Institute of Biotechnology and Food Science, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, STU, Radlinského 9, 81237 Bratislava, Slovakia
a Department of Analytical Chemistry, Chemical Faculty, Gdańsk University of Technology, 80 952 Gdansk, G. Narutowicza 11/12, Poland
b Slovak National Water Reference Laboratory, Water Research Institute, Nábr. arm. gen. L. Svobodu 5, 81249 Bratislava, Slovakia
c School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, St Michael’s Building, White Swan Road, Portsmouth PO1 2DT, United Kingdom
d School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, King Henry Building, King Henry I Street, Portsmouth PO1 2DY, United Kingdom

Abstract: The use of passive sampling techniques to monitor water quality offers a number of advantages over conventional grab or spot sampling methods. Recently, a passive sampling device - Chemcatcher® has been developed for the measurement of a broad range of priority organic and inorganic pollutants. The device uses a common design with interchangeable receiving phases and membranes, depending upon application. There are two designs of housing available for the Chemcatcher®. The samplers were deployed at two sites in Portsmouth Harbour (Portsmouth, UK) for several 14-day periods. Three replicates of the Chemcatcher® sampler were deployed at each site. Two different designs of sampler housing were used and compared in the trial. During the whole exposure time the water chemistry was carefully monitored. Spot samples were collected regularly during the deployment period and the uptake of selected organic priority pollutants in the passive samplers was compared to the levels found in the spot samples. The samplers provided time-weighted average concentrations of the bioavailable (truly dissolved) fraction of monitored pollutants. Sampling rates at Site 1 (outside the harbour basin) were are almost three times higher than those at Site 2, which was probably caused by the more intense turbulence of water. In comparison with the concentrations of truly dissolved analytes measured by passive samplers, higher concentrations of pollutants were determined in filtered spot water samples. The difference was likely caused by the elevated content of colloidally bound contaminants present in water samples. In contrast, passive samplers measure the concentrations of truly dissolved fractions. Concentrations of pollutants at Site 1 determined in passive samplers were lower compared to Site 2. Concentrations in water samples at the two sites did not differ significantly, although slightly higher PAH concentrations were determined at Site 1.

Keywords: Chemcatcher®, passive sampling, water monitoring, hydrophobic organic pollutants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Full paper in Portable Document Format: acs_0060.pdf

Acta Chimica Slovaca, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2010, pp. 81—94