Quality Assurance/Quality Control Considerations with Regard to the Use of Passive Sampling Devices/Materials
Oral Presentation
Prepared by J. Caprio
Geosyntec Consultants, 2240 Sutherland Avenue, Suite 107, Knoxville, TN, 37919, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 865-291-4696
ABSTRACT
Passive samplers have several advantages over other sampling methods for measuring organic compound concentrations in sediment pore water. They allow collection of representative, depth discrete data without the need for large volume aqueous samples. Typically, detection limits for passive samplers are much lower than for traditional aqueous samples and these samplers avoid the need to account for the presence of dissolved organic carbon. Several recently published documents promote the use of Passive Samplers, including EPA’s 2012 publication Guidelines for Using Passive Samplers to Monitor Organic Contaminants at Superfund Sediment Sites and a series of articles in the Journal of Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management in 2014.
As with the use of all sampling devices, quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) measures should be taken into consideration in order to collect the most representative, comparable, and defensible data possible. To successfully accomplish this awareness and understanding of applicable and appropriate QC measures and the Site regulatory environment are required. This presentation will briefly discuss basic QC checks and measures that should be made prior to and after sampling. The quality checks and considerations should be made on the sampling devices themselves and throughout the analytical process.
Oral Presentation
Prepared by J. Caprio
Geosyntec Consultants, 2240 Sutherland Avenue, Suite 107, Knoxville, TN, 37919, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 865-291-4696
ABSTRACT
Passive samplers have several advantages over other sampling methods for measuring organic compound concentrations in sediment pore water. They allow collection of representative, depth discrete data without the need for large volume aqueous samples. Typically, detection limits for passive samplers are much lower than for traditional aqueous samples and these samplers avoid the need to account for the presence of dissolved organic carbon. Several recently published documents promote the use of Passive Samplers, including EPA’s 2012 publication Guidelines for Using Passive Samplers to Monitor Organic Contaminants at Superfund Sediment Sites and a series of articles in the Journal of Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management in 2014.
As with the use of all sampling devices, quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) measures should be taken into consideration in order to collect the most representative, comparable, and defensible data possible. To successfully accomplish this awareness and understanding of applicable and appropriate QC measures and the Site regulatory environment are required. This presentation will briefly discuss basic QC checks and measures that should be made prior to and after sampling. The quality checks and considerations should be made on the sampling devices themselves and throughout the analytical process.
