INITIAL DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLID-PHASE FUGACITY METER FOR SEMIVOLATILE ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS

A method to determine the fugacity of semivolatile organochlorine compounds on solid surfaces is presented. The method was developed and tested using spruce needles. Needle surface fugacities were determined indirectly, using the concentration of the compound in a gas phase which had been equilibrated with the needle surface. Measurements with both artificially contaminated and natural spruce needles showed good agreement between the fugacities on the needle surfaces and the air fugacities of the chosen compounds in the needles' habitat. The results demonstrated that the transfer of gaseous organochlorine compounds between air and the needle surface is a reversible phenomenon governed by equilibrium considerations. This study suggests that the spruce needle-fugacity meter combination could be a good biomonitor for semivolatile, persistent, organic contaminants in the atmosphere. The fugacity meter is also believed to be a valuable tool for studying contaminant transport into plants and investigating the fate of contaminants in a variety of solid phases.