Suitability of passive sampling for the monitoring of pharmaceuticals in Finnish surface waters
The occurrence of five pharmaceuticals, consisting of four anti inflammatory and one antiepileptic drug, was studied by passive sampling and grab sampling in northern Lake Paijanne and River Vantaa. The passive sampling was performed by using Chemcatcher(r) sampler with a SDB RPS Empore disk as a receiving phase. In Lake Paijanne, the sampling was conducted during summer 2013 at four locations near the discharge point of a wastewater treatment plant and in the years 2013 and 2015 at four locations along River Vantaa. The samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC MS/MS) in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The concentrations of carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen in Lake Paijanne determined by passive sampling ranged between 1.4 2.9 ng L 1, 15 35 ng L 1, 13 31 ng L 1, 16 27 ng L 1, and 3.3 32 ng L 1, respectively. Similarly, the results in River Vantaa ranged between 1.2 40 ng L 1, 15 65 ng L 1, 13 33 ng L 1, 16 31 ng L 1, and 3.3 6.4 ng L 1. The results suggest that the Chemcatcher passive samplers are suitable for detecting pharmaceuticals in lake and river waters.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research