Field evaluation and calibration of a small axial passive air sampler for gaseous and particle bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and oxygenated PAHs

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their oxygenated analogues (OPAHs) are ubiquitous air pollutants known to cause adverse health effects. PAH air levels are commonly monitored by active sampling but passive sampling has become popular because of its lower cost and simplicity, which facilitate long-term sampling and increased spatial coverage. However, passive samplers are less suitable for short-term sampling and are in general less accurate than active samplers because they require reliable sampling rate (R_s) measurements for individual analytes under diverse environmental conditions. In this study a small passive sampler designed to sample both particle-bound and gaseous compounds was evaluated and calibrated for PAHs and OPAHs in a traffic environment by co-deployment with active samplers for two weeks. Despite the relatively low average air concentrations of PM₁₀ (20 μg/m³), PM_2.5 (5 μg/m³), total PAHs (4.2 ng/m³), and OPAHs (2.3 ng/m³) at the site, detectable quantities (on average 24 times above blank values) of the full range of PAHs and OPAHs were captured, with low variability (average RSD of 16%). This was accomplished by using a Tenax^® TA-modified glass fiber substrate that is compatible with highly sensitive thermal desorption GC-MS analysis, which made it possible to achieve detection limits per sample in the pg range. Experiments with inverted samplers revealed that the relative contribution of gravitational settling to the sampling of particles carrying PAHs and OPAHs was around 3.5 times larger than other deposition mechanisms. Average R_s values for individual OPAHs and PAHs were 0.046 ± 0.03 m³/day and 0.12 ± 0.07 m³/day, respectively, with no appreciable difference between the values for particle-associated and gaseous compounds. Furthermore, the R_s values were competitive with other currently used passive samplers if normalized for substrate area. Overall, the new sampler's performance, simplicity and ability to generate relatively time-resolved data make it a promising candidate for diverse SVOC monitoring studies. - Highlights: • Excellent detectability and repeatability at short exposure time in a low concentration environment. • Very sensitive analytical protocol based on TD-GC-MS. • Sampling rates for OPAHs and PAHs of 0.046 ± 0.03 and 0.12 ± 0.07 m³/day, respectively. • No apparent difference in sampling rates for particle-associated and gaseous compounds. • Gravitational settling is the dominant uptake mechanism for particles carrying PAHs and OPAHs. - The sampler's performance, simplicity, and ability to generate short-term data for PAHs and OPAHs make it a promising candidate for a vast variety of SVOC air monitoring studies.