Monitoring of Aquatic Environments Using Passive Samplers

A review is given on the development of passive samplers for aquatic environments. Passive samplers that are simple and easy to use and with minimal consumption of organic solvents to desorb the analytes from the trapping media are focused. New developments in quality assurance procedures are highlighted. Monitoring of the presence and levels of various organic chemicals in water bodies is important as it gives vital information on the toxic risks associated with them. The common approach is to collect part of the environmental media which is later analyzed for potential pollutants in the laboratory. This approach, among other advantages, helps to control the extraction parameters and therefore gives quality results. However, information obtained from grab environmental samples only reflects concentration levels at the time of sampling and may fail to account for episodic contamination. Passive sampling devices allow measurement of time-weighted average (TWA) concentration of pollutants over long periods, providing a better picture of the concentration levels in an ecosystem while reducing the error from short-term concentration variations. Passive samplers are economical and can easily be deployed over large areas, combining sampling and sample preparation in one step.