Quality control for sampling of PCDD/PCDF emissions from open combustion sources Brian K. Gullett a,⇑ , Dennis Tabor a,1 , Amelie Bertrand b , Abderrahmane Touati c,2 a US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development (E343-04), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA b Universite d’Orleans, Faculté des Sciences, 1 Rue de Chartres, 45067 Orléans, France c ARCADIS US, Inc. 4915 Prospectus Drive, Durham, NC 27713, USA highlights  Polyurethane foam sorbents capture PCDD/PCDF with less than 1% transfer loss.  High sampling flow rates and long durations result in minimal PCDD/PCDF migration.  Higher sampling temperatures result in loss of PUF-bound PCDD/PCDF.  Below 70 °C minimal loss of TEF-weighted congeners occur.  Loss of congeners is consistent with vapor pressure models. article info Article history: Received 28 November 2012 Received in revised form 12 April 2013 Accepted 2 June 2013 Available online 18 July 2013 Keywords: PCDD/PCDF Sampling Quality control Open burning Polyurethane foam Blow off abstract Both long duration (>6 h) and high temperature (up to 139 °C) sampling efforts were conducted using ambient air sampling methods to determine if either high volume throughput or higher than ambient air sampling temperatures resulted in loss of target polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs) from a polyurethane foam (PUF) sorbent. Emissions from open burning of simulated mil- itary forward operating base waste were sampled using EPA Method TO-9A for 185 min duration using a filter/PUF/PUF in series combination. After a 54 m 3 sample was collected, the sampler was removed from the combustion source and the second PUF was replaced with a fresh, clean PUF. An additional 6 h of ambient air sampling (171 m 3 ) was conducted and the second PUF was analyzed to determine if the PCDD/PCDF transferred from the filter and the first PUF. Less than 4.4% of the initial PCDD/PCDF was lost to the second PUF. To assess the potential for blow off of PCDD/PCDF analytes during open air sampling, the mobility of spiked mono- to hepta-PCDD/PCDF standards across a PUF sorbent was evaluated from ambient air temperatures to 145 °C with total volumes between 600 L and 2400 L. Lower molecular weight compounds and higher flow amounts increased release of the spiked standards consistent with vapor pressure values. At 600 L total sampled volume, the release temperature for 1% of the tetra-CDD (the lowest chlorinated homologue with a toxic compound) was 87 °C; increasing the volume fourfold reduced this temperature to 73 °C. Published by Elsevier Ltd. 1. Introduction Characterization of open combustion sources for emissions of trace polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDDs/ PCDFs) poses significant sampling challenges. In open area sam- pling, the high sample flow rate and volume necessary to avoid the presence of non-detectable congeners increases the possibility of migration of the targets past the polyurethane foam (PUF) sor- bent. Likewise, locating the sampler close (within several meters) to the combustion source to reduce the sampling time necessary to avoid non-detects can overheat the PUF, leading to concerns of sample loss through degradation or vaporization. Open combustion sources for which PCDDs/PCDFs may be of concern include forest fires, agricultural burns, and waste burning. As an example of the latter, combustion of military waste on-site at forward operating bases (FOBs) has raised potential health con- cerns for the soldiers and contractor personnel (Smith et al., 2009; Mulrine, 2010). In the absence of incinerators, waste gener- ated on site is arranged in piles or rows and burned in the open. The duration of personnel at the FOB and their proximity to the waste burns has raised questions about the potential for exposure to harmful pollutants. Efforts are being undertaken to quantify the 0045-6535/$ - see front matter Published by Elsevier Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.06.020 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 919 541 1534. E-mail addresses: Gullett.brian@epa.gov (B.K. Gullett), amelieb-45@hotmail.fr (A. Bertrand), touati.dahman@epa.gov (A. Touati). 1 Tel.: +1 919 541 2686. 2 Tel.: +1 919 541 3662. Chemosphere 93 (2013) 494–498 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Chemosphere journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/chemosphere