Publication details

Assessment of bioavailable fraction of POPS in surface water bodies in Johannesburg City, South Africa, using passive samplers: an initial assessment

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Authors

AMDANY Robert Kipruto CHIMUKA Luke CUKROWSKA Ewa KUKUČKA Petr KOHOUTEK Jiří TOLGYESSY Peter VRANA Branislav

Year of publication 2014
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Science

Citation
Web http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10661-014-3809-3
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3809-3
Field Water pollution and control
Keywords Free dissolved concentration; Passive sampling devices; Hydrophobic organic compounds; Monitoring; Passive sampling; SPMDs
Description In this study, the semipermeable membrane device (SPMD) passive samplers were used to determine freely dissolved concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in selected water bodies situated in and around Johannesburg City, South Africa. The devices were deployed for 14 days at each sampling site in spring and summer of 2011. Time weighted average (TWA) concentrations of the water-borne contaminants were calculated from the amounts of analytes accumulated in the passive samplers. In the area of interest, concentrations of analytes in water ranged from 33.5 to 126.8 ng l(-1) for PAHs, from 20.9 to 120.9 pg l(-1) for PCBs and from 0.2 to 36.9 ng l(-1) for OCPs. Chlorinated pesticides were mainly composed of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) (0.15-36.9 ng l(-1)) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloromethane (DDT) with its metabolites (0.03-0.55 ng l(-1)). By applying diagnostic ratios of certain PAHs, identification of possible sources of the contaminants in the various sampling sites was performed. These ratios were generally inclined towards pyrogenic sources of pollution by PAHs in all study sites except in the Centurion River (CR), Centurion Lake (CL) and Airport River (AUP) that indicated petrogenic origins. This study highlights further need to map up the temporal and spatial variations of these POPs using passive samplers.
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