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TOOL FOR MONITORING HYDROPHILIC CONTAMINANTS IN WATER: POLAR ORGANIC CHEMICAL INTEGRATIVE SAMPLER (POCIS)
Citation:
ALVAREZ, D. A., J. N. HUCKINS, J. D. PETTY, T. L. JONES-LEPP, F. STUER-LAURIDSEN, D. T. GETTING, J. P. GODDARD, AND A. GRAVELL. TOOL FOR MONITORING HYDROPHILIC CONTAMINANTS IN WATER: POLAR ORGANIC CHEMICAL INTEGRATIVE SAMPLER (POCIS). Chapter 8, R. Greenwood, G. Mills, B. Vrana (ed.), Passive Sampling Techniques. ELSEVIER, AMSTERDAM, Holland, 48:171-197, (2007).
Impact/Purpose:
The research focused on in the subtasks is the development and application of state-of the-art technologies to meet the needs of the public, Office of Water, and ORD in the area of Water Quality. Located In the subtasks are the various research projects being performed in support of this Task and more in-depth coverage of each project. Briefly, each project's objective is stated below.
Subtask 1: To integrate state-of-the-art technologies (polar organic chemical integrative samplers, advanced solid-phase extraction methodologies with liquid chromatography/electrospray/mass spectrometry) and apply them to studying the sources and fate of a select list of PPCPs. Application and improvement of analytical methodologies that can detect non-volatile, polar, water-soluble pharmaceuticals in source waters at levels that could be environmentally significant (at concentrations less than parts per billion, ppb). IAG with USGS ends in FY05. APM 20 due in FY05.
Subtask 2: Coordination of interagency research and public outreach activities for PPCPs. Participate on NSTC Health and Environment subcommittee working group on PPCPs. Web site maintenance and expansion, invited technical presentations, invited articles for peer-reviewed journals, interviews for media, responding to public inquiries.
Subtask 3: To apply state-of-the-art environmental forensic techniques to the recognition and characterization of emerging pollutants in the aquatic environment. There is a need for high sensitivity and for a powerful method of structural characterization, advanced mass spectrometric and chromatographic techniques to be employed to meet the challenge of emerging pollutants, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products, agents of sabotage, and explosives. Ongoing efforts continue to identify previously unrecognized pollutants from a range of problematic samples having importance to regional and state contacts.
Subtask 4: To provide the Agency with a set of practical analytical methods for the selective and sensitive determination of selenium species (organic, inorganic, volatile and non volatile forms) in multiple media to accurately assess and if necessary control the risk of selenium exposure to organisms. This includes development of optimal extraction, digestion, separation and detection approaches.
Subtask 5: To develop and apply an analytical method that can extract and detect synthetic musks. The extent of exposure may be determined by measuring levels of synthetic musks from their potential source (communal sewage effluent). This subtask ends in FY05 with the deliverable of APM 21. Future applications to biosolids will be covered in subtask 6.
Subtask 6: Application, and improvement, of previously in-house developed sensitive, robust, and green, methodologies regarding the use of urobilin and sterols as a possible markers of sewage contamination.
Subtask 7: Adaptation and improvement of previously developed in-house methods, for PPCPs (e.g., antibiotics and musks) to solid materials (e.g. biosolids, sediments).
Subtask 8: Study of the presence of personal care products, incombustible organic compounds from the direct-piping of small engines exhaust in Lake Tahoe, and lake deposition of airborne pollutants from industrial activity
Description:
Global emissions of persistent bioconcentratable organic chemicals have resulted in a wide range of adverse ecological effects. Consequently, industry was led to develop less persistent, more water soluble, polar or hydrophilic organic compounds (HpOCs), which generally have low bioconcentration factors. However, evidence is growing that the large fluxes of these seemingly more environmentally friendly compounds (e.g., pesticides, prescription and non-prescription drugs, personal care and common consumer products, industrial and domestic-use chemicals and their degradation products) into aquatic systems on a world-wide basis may be responsible for incidents of acute toxicity and sub-lethal chronic abnormalities. These adverse effects include altered behavior, neurotoxicity, and severely impaired reproduction. Furthermore, the presence of these HpOCs likely plays a major role in the endocrine disrupting effects of complex mixtures of chemicals present in aquatic environments. In regard to physiological effects, pharmaceuticals are of particular concern because they are designed to elicit diverse pharmacological responses at very low doses. Unfortunately, the effects of this class of HpOCs on non-target, aquatic organisms are largely unknown.