Controlled field evaluation of water flow rate effects on sampling polar organic compounds using polar organic chemical integrative samplers.

The uptake of polar organic contaminants into polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) varies with environmental factors, such as water flow rate. To evaluate the influence of water flow rate on the uptake of contaminants into POCIS, flow-controlled field experiments were conducted with POCIS deployed in channel systems through which treated sewage effluent flowed at rates between 2.6 and 37 cm/s. Both pharmaceutical POCIS and pesticide POCIS were exposed to effluent for 21 d and evaluated for uptake of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and endocrine disrupting substances (EDS). The pesticide POCIS had higher uptake rates for PPCPs and EDS than the pharmaceutical POCIS, but there are some practical advantages to using pharmaceutical POCIS. The uptake of contaminants into POCIS increased with flow rate, but these effects were relatively small (i.e., less than twofold) for most of the test compounds. There was no relationship observed between the hydrophobicity (log octanol/water partition coefficient, log K(OW)) of model compounds and the effects of flow rate on the uptake kinetics by POCIS. These data indicate that water flow rate has a relatively minor influence on the accumulation of PPCPs and EDS into POCIS.