Mills Graham A, Greenwood Richard, Vrana Branislav, Allan Ian J, Ocelka Tomáš
University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
J Environ Monit. 2011 Nov;13(11):2979-82. doi: 10.1039/c1em10680e. Epub 2011 Oct 19.
Passive sampling devices have been used since the 1970s to measure time-weighted average (TWA) or equilibrium concentrations of pollutants in various environmental matrices (e.g. air, soils and sediments and water). In recent years the popularity of using such samplers has increased and the technology in now well established for the measurement of atmospheric pollutants. This sector has a long experience of using passive samplers in the short- and long-term assessment of air quality in the local environment and on a global scale (e.g. within the United Nations Stockholm Convention on the trans-boundary movement of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) where large networks of samplers on a continental scale have been established). In comparison, the use of passive samplers for monitoring the aquatic environment has been slower to take off. There has, however, been a recent research drive to develop devices for measuring the wide range of pollutants that can be found in environmental waters (e.g. ground, surface, and marine). It is now being recognised that passive samplers can play a valuable role in monitoring water quality within a legislative framework such as the European Union's Water Framework Directive (WFD). The data from these devices can be used alongside the results obtained from conventional spot or bottle sampling to improve risk assessments and to inform decisions on undertaking potentially expensive remedial actions. Such monitoring techniques may have uses within the European Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & restriction of CHemicals (REACH) Directive and the forthcoming European Marine Strategy Directive. It is expected that the aquatic monitoring sector will follow a transition similar to that which occurred in air monitoring where data obtained from passive samplers can use used within a legal framework. There has also been increased interest in extending the role of passive samplers to both the measurement of equilibrium concentrations and investigating the movement and release of the dissolved fraction of various pollutants in the pore water of sediments and soils.
自20世纪70年代以来，被动采样装置一直被用于测量各种环境基质（如空气、土壤、沉积物和水）中污染物的时间加权平均浓度（TWA）或平衡浓度。近年来，此类采样器的使用越来越普遍，该技术现已成熟，可用于测量大气污染物。在当地环境和全球范围内（例如在联合国关于持久性有机污染物（POPs）越境转移的《斯德哥尔摩公约》中，已建立了大陆规模的大型采样网络），该领域在短期和长期空气质量评估中使用被动采样器已有很长的经验。相比之下，被动采样器在监测水生环境方面的应用起步较慢。然而，最近有研究致力于开发用于测量环境水体（如地下水、地表水和海水）中各种污染物的装置。现在人们认识到，被动采样器在诸如欧盟水框架指令（WFD）等立法框架内的水质监测中可以发挥重要作用。这些装置的数据可与传统的现场或瓶式采样结果一起使用，以改进风险评估，并为是否采取可能昂贵的补救行动提供决策依据。此类监测技术可能在欧洲化学品注册、评估、授权与限制（REACH）指令以及即将出台的欧洲海洋战略指令中得到应用。预计水生监测领域将经历类似空气监测领域的转变，即被动采样器获得的数据可在法律框架内使用。人们也越来越关注扩大被动采样器的作用，使其既能测量平衡浓度，又能研究沉积物和土壤孔隙水中各种污染物溶解部分的迁移和释放情况。
