A preliminary investigation of sorbent-impregnated filters (SIFs) as an alternative to polyurethane foam (PUF) for sampling gas-phase semivolatile organic compounds in air

Filters impregnated with XAD-4™ resin were used in a small series of high-volume air samples to compare their collection of gas-phase semivolatile toxic substances (organochlorine pesticides, OCs, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs) with that achieved by polyurethane foam (PUF). The advantages of the use of such sorbent-impregnated filters (SIFs) include a reduction in size which leads to numerous benefits. The latter include simplified sample handling, shipping and storage, and the potential for a decrease in solvent requirements for pre-cleaning and extraction. Furthermore, such SIFs could be used to measure combined particle/gas concentrations of target compounds. Gas concentrations derived from the SIFs in a filter-SIF–SIF–PUF configuration agreed well with values derived from the PUF plugs in a comparison filter-PUF configuration. The collection efficiency of a single SIF was 80% on average. As such, these SIFs are viewed as a promising alternative to PUF and further, more extensive study of their performance characteristics appears to be warranted.