A simple equilibrium passive sampler, consisting of water in an inert container capped with a rate-limiting barrier, for the monitoring of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in sediment pore water and surface water was developed and tested through a series of laboratory and field experiments. The objectives of the laboratory experiments were to determine (1) the membrane type that could serve as the sampler's rate-limiting barrier, (2) the mass transfer coefficient of environmentally relevant PFAS through the selected membrane, and (3) the performance reference compounds (PRCs) that could be used to infer the kinetics of PFAS diffusing into the sampler. Of the membranes tested, the polycarbonate (PC) membrane was deemed the most suitable rate-limiting barrier, given that it did not appreciably adsorb the studied PFAS (which have ≤8 carbons), and that the migration of these compounds through this membrane could be described by Fick's law of diffusion. When employed as the PRC, the isotopically labelled PFAS M₂PFOA and M₄PFOS were able to predict the mass transfer coefficients of the studied PFAS analytes. In contrast, the mass transfer coefficients were underpredicted by Br⁻ and M₃PFPeA. For validation, the PC-based passive samplers consisting of these four PRCs, as well as two other PRCs (i.e., M₈PFOA and C₈H₁₇SO₃⁻), were deployed in the sediment and water at a PFAS-impacted field site. The concentration–time profiles of the PRCs indicated that the samplers deployed in the sediment required at least 6 to 7 weeks to reach 90% equilibrium. If the deployment times are shorter (e.g., 2 to 4 weeks), PFAS concentrations at equilibrium could be estimated based on the concentrations of the PRCs remaining in the sampler at retrieval. All PFAS concentrations determined via this approach were within a factor of two compared to those measured in the mechanically extracted sediment pore water and surface water samples obtained adjacent to the sampler deployment locations. Neither biofouling of the rate-limiting barrier nor any physical change to it was observed on the sampler after retrieval. The passive sampler developed in this study could be a promising tool for the monitoring of PFAS in pore water and surface water.

中文翻译：

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一种经过现场验证的平衡被动采样器，用于监测沉积物孔隙水和地表水中的全氟和多氟烷基物质 (PFAS)

一种简单的平衡被动采样器，由装有限速屏障的惰性容器中的水组成，用于监测沉积物孔隙水和地表水中的全氟烷基物质和多氟烷基物质 (PFAS)，通过一系列实验室和测试开发和测试现场实验。实验室实验的目的是确定 (1) 可用作采样器限速屏障的膜类型，(2) 通过所选膜的环境相关 PFAS 的传质系数，以及 (3) 性能参考化合物(PRC)，可用于推断 PFAS 扩散到采样器中的动力学。在测试的膜中，聚碳酸酯 (PC) 膜被认为是最合适的限速屏障，鉴于它没有明显吸附所研究的 PFAS（具有≤8 个碳），并且这些化合物通过该膜的迁移可以用菲克扩散定律来描述。当用作 PRC 时，同位素标记的 PFAS M₂ PFOA 和 M ₄ PFOS 能够预测所研究的 PFAS 分析物的传质系数。相反，传质系数被 Br ^-和 M ₃ PFPeA 低估了。为了进行验证，将由这四个 PRC 以及另外两个 PRC（即M ₈ PFOA 和 C ₈ H ₁₇ SO ₃ ^-）组成的基于 PC 的被动采样器部署在受 PFAS 影响的区域的沉积物和水中地点。PRC 的浓度-时间曲线表明部署在沉积物中的采样器至少需要 6 到 7 周才能达到 90% 的平衡。如果部署时间更短（例如, 2 至 4 周），平衡时的 PFAS 浓度可以根据回收时残留在采样器中的 PRC 浓度进行估算。与在采样器部署位置附近获得的机械提取的沉积物孔隙水和地表水样本中测得的浓度相比，通过这种方法确定的所有 PFAS 浓度都在两倍之内。回收后的采样器上既没有观察到限速屏障的生物污染，也没有观察到它的任何物理变化。本研究开发的被动采样器可能是监测孔隙水和地表水中 PFAS 的有前途的工具。