Passive air sampling of persistent organic pollutants in Korea

Abstract

Atmospheric monitoring is important for the investigation of source and receptor relationships of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). High volume samplers (HiVol), a kind of active air sampler, have been widely used to collect air samples containing POPs. Recently, passive air samplers (PAS) have been developed, and they have several advantages compared with HiVol. In this paper, we introduced the principle, properties, and applications of several types of PAS. Finally, the results of case studies from our group were presented. Since PAS have no electric pump and are much smaller and cheaper than HiVol, they can be used for various scaled monitoring studies. In Korea, we introduced three types of PAS: (1) semipermeable membrane devices (SPMD), (2) polyurethane foam (PUF), and (3) XAD resin-based PAS. The results of monitoring studies using these samplers suggest that PAS are a useful tool for the investigation on the level and distribution of POPs.