Passive samplers can be deployed in the field for extended periods of time, which provides data that better represent the long-term environmental conditions of the site compared to discrete sampling plans.  This study used Chemcatcher® passive sampling devices at locations within the Sierra Nevada, Cascade, and Sacramento Valley regions of California. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade lack large scale agriculture but each has its own unique pesticide applications. Unregulated or illegal <i>Cannabis </i>cultivators apply unreported types and quantities, including substances banned in the United States. Pesticides are also legally used in commercial timber production and for maintenance of rights-of-way. These chemicals may be entering streams at concentrations harmful to aquatic animals and plants. Chemcatcher® devices were deployed with multiple receiving phases (Atlantic HLB (Hydrophilic-lipophilic balance), Empore SDB-RPS (Styrene divinylbenzene reversed phase sulfonate), C18) to capture a wide range of pesticides (&gt;150 compounds). The use of diffusion limiting membranes (DLMs) was also explored. Typically, passive samplers employ a polyethersulfone (PES) DLM to reduce biofouling by providing a semipermeable barrier between the SPE sorbent media and the aqueous environment; however, because the goal of this research was to detect pesticides during storm events (&lt; 14 d), deployments were also made without DLMs to get maximum detectable residues. Samplers with multiple media were deployed during baseflow and storm events in 2018 and 2019. To date, pesticides detected include 6 herbicides, 12 insecticides and degradates, and 6 fungicides.<br/>

Passive samplers for surface water pesticide occurrence in remote areas of Northern California

2019 Fall National Meeting

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