Passive Sampling for Quality Monitoring of Irish Marine Waters

This study details the steps involved in fabrication, deployment and retrieval of mainly polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) passive sampling devices deployed in a number of locations in and around Ireland in an attempt to derive dissolved water concentrations of contaminants in-situ. PDMS samplers were initially deployed in the Burrishoole catchment, Co. Mayo in conjunction with the collection of biological tissues and sediment to investigate the source of elevated dioxins in the catchment. Passive samplers were used to generate dissolved water concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and also to successfully screen for the presence of dioxins in the water column. The dioxin profile present was also found in sediment and biological tissue and through statistical profiling potential sources were identified as being possibly related to the use of technical pentachlorophenol in the catchment though no direct evidence was found. Passive samplers (PDMS and SPMD) were then deployed at various depths on the M6 weather buoy, 400 miles off the West Coast of Ireland, in conjunction with temperature and salinity monitors to test how the technology would fare over a long period deployment (585 days) in a harsh, dynamic environment. The PDMS samplers were almost completly lost where the SPMDs last better (80 % recovered). Dissolved water concentrations estimated using both sampler types were found to be very low (