Techniques for monitoring bioavailable organic pollutants in sediment: Application of poly(methyl methacrylate) as a passive sampler

Abstract

A poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) passive sampler was applied to harbor sediment to examine whether the substrate could be used as a tool to measure freely dissolved concentrations of contaminants. An ex situ method required at least 1 g of PMMA to detect freely dissolved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment with <100 ng/g dry weight. Two weeks were sufficient to reach equilibrium under 180 rpm for PAHs with a molar volume of <250 cm3/mol. For the in situ method, a deployment time of four months was sufficient to measure PAHs with a molar volume up to 250 cm3/mol in the sediment bed. The PMMA passive sampler could be used to measure the bioavailable fraction of PAHs in porewater, reflecting the complex properties of sediment with strong sorption such as black carbons.