title: A rapidly equilibrating, thin film, passive water sampler for organic contaminants; characterization and field testing.
abstract: Improving methods for assessing the spatial and temporal resolution of organic compound concentrations in marine environments is important to the sustainable management of our coastal systems. Here we evaluate the use of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) as a candidate polymer for thin-film passive sampling in waters of marine environments. Log K(EVA-W) partition coefficients correlate well (r(2) = 0.87) with Log K(OW) values for selected pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) where Log K(EVA-W) = 1.04 Log K(OW) + 0.22. EVA is a suitable polymer for passive sampling due to both its high affinity for organic compounds and its ease of coating at sub-micron film thicknesses on various substrates. Twelve-day field deployments were effective in detecting target compounds with good precision making EVA a potential multi-media fugacity meter.
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Science, University of Connecticut, 1080 Shennecossett Road, Groton, CT 06340, USA.
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: St George
authors.forename: Penny
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vlahos
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harner
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Helm
authors.forename: Bryony
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wilford
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D007700:Kinetics; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000737:chemistry*; D011145:Polyvinyls / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D011145:Polyvinyls; C016438:ethylenevinylacetate copolymer