Study and calibration of Passive Samplers

Due to their ability to pre-concentrate analytes over an extended exposure time, polymer-based passive samplers are a promising tool to collect information on very low dissolved concentrations of (targeted) micropollutants, typical for the marine environment. Furthermore, the quantities of micropollutants taken up by passive samplers correspond to the bioavailable concentration, which organisms have been exposed to. The instrumental methods, developed in Activity 3, will thus be optimised for the analysis of extracts obtained from passive samplers designed for monitoring emerging polar organic micropollutants. As information on the sorption and kinetic behaviour of polar micropollutants in passive samplers is still a relatively blank area in literature, EnVOC and LCA will calibrate and perform kinetic studies of a selected number of candidate sorbent materials for a range of model compounds, taking into account the effect of environmental conditions. This will allow to gain new (i) fundamental knowledge on the uptake mechanisms and applicability of passive sampling for monitoring aqueous polar micropollutants, and (ii) data on the occurrence of mixtures of these emerging contaminants in the marine North Sea environment.