Field comparison of polyurethane foam and XAD-2 resin for air sampling for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons

Abstract

A study of the sampling efficiency for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in air of two adsorbents, XAD-2 resin and polyurethane foam (PUF), was performed under summer and winter ambient conditions. Two aspects were investigated: (1) collection efficiency for ambient PAH vapor and (2) retention efficiency for native and perdeuteriated PAH spiked onto the adsorbents before sampling. The XAD-2 resin had a higher collection efficiency for naphthalene than did PUF. Some spiked PAH that were volatile or reactive were also recovered more efficiently with XAD-2 resin than with PUF. Lower sampling temperatures improved the recoveries of volatile PAH with PUF, but the recoveries of reactive PAH, such as cyclopenta(cd)pyrene, were not improved at lower temperatures for either adsorbent. The stability of PAH collected on quartz-fiber prefilters and XAD-2 or PUF backup traps as a function of the storage time was also investigated. Storage at room temperature in the dark for 30 days did not have an adverse effect on ambient PAH collected with XAD-2 resin or on perdeuteriated PAH spiked onto the adsorbent prior to sampling. However, a decreasing concentration trend with storage time for naphthalene, anthracene, and (/sup 2/H/sub 1//sup 2/)benzo(a)pyrene collected or spiked on PUF was found. 19 references,more » 4 figures, 1 table.« less