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APPLICATION OF SEMIPERMEABLE MEMBRANE DEVICES TO INDOOR AIR SAMPLING
Citation:
Robertson, G L., J. Petty, J. Huckins, M. K. O'Rourke, S. R. Rogan, AND M. D. Lebowitz. APPLICATION OF SEMIPERMEABLE MEMBRANE DEVICES TO INDOOR AIR SAMPLING. Presented at ISEA 2000 Exposure Analysis in the 21st Century: Integrating Science, Policy and Quality of Life, Monterey Peninsula, CA, October 24-27, 2000.
Impact/Purpose:
The primary objective of the NAFTA Border study was to determine if the population of the U.S./Mexico Border area of Arizona are more highly exposed to environmental contaminants than the residents of the state of Arizona as a whole. The NAFTA Border Study will also demonstrate the feasibility of using these measurement processes in future multimedia-multipathway studies along the U.S./Mexico Border.
Description:
Semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) are a relatively new passive sampling technique for nonpolar organic compounds that have been extensively used for surface water sampling. A small body of literature indicates that SPMDs are also useful for air sampling. Because SPMDs have a large sample capacity and can be left in place for a long period of time they could be useful for providing an integrated measure of long term exposure to airborne organic contaminants such as pesticides, PAHs, and PCBs. The current work involved placing SPMDs in approximately 50 homes as part of a larger study. The SPMDs were exposed in the living area of the home for 30 days and returned to the laboratory for analysis for organochlorine pesticides, PAHs, and PCBs. A subset of the SPMDs was additionally analyzed for representative organophosphate and pyrethrin pesticides. Conventional (glass fiber filter and PUF cartridge, PM10 cut point) air samples were collected during a three-day period within the time the SPMDs were exposed. Representative organochlorine pesticides analyzed by both methods included p,p-DDT, p,p-DDE, trans-chlordane, and dieldrin. The following are percent detects by SPMD, percent detects by the conventional method, with n = 49 : p,p-DDT 39%, 33%; p,p-DDE 96%, 73%; trans-chlordane 98%, 78%; dieldrin 41%, 10%. Results for the subset of other pesticides, n = 11, includes diazinon 100%, 100%; chlorpyrifos 100%, 100%. These preliminary results show that SPMDs are highly effective at collecting integrated samples of airborne pesticides. Additional results comparing amounts found will be presented.
The U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development funded this research. The abstract was reviewed and approved. The presentation has not been reviewed.