Interpreting results from field deployments of semipermeable membrane devices

Three canisters of semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs), each containing five SPMDs, were deployed at three different locations on a transect across a small river removed from the impact of near-field point sources. Following a 62-day deployment, the masses of various polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) sequestered by each SPMD in each canister were determined. The compound-specific mean residues (ng/SPMD) obtained for the PAHs with pK(ow) values >4.4 showed statistically significant (alpha = 0.10) differences between the three deployment locations (canisters) ranging from approximately 10 to 160 ng/SPMD, corresponding to relative percent differences (RPDs) ranging from 10% to 54%. There were no statistically significant differences between the same three locations for the single PAH with a pKow <4.4. A detailed discussion of how different (uncontrollable) environmental variables may have impacted the experimental results is provided to illustrate the uncertainties associated with interpreting the results from SPMD field deployments and highlight the need for some means of correcting for these impacts. The results from this work also illustrate the need to account for spatial variability in water column concentrations (i.e., sample heterogeneity) as part of any interpretation.