Evaluation of Passive Air Sampling for Monitoring Current-Use Pesticide Pollution near Large-Scale Banana Plantations in Costa Rica

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Passive air sampling (PAS) using polyurethane foam (PUF) disks has been used to monitor air contamination from current-use pesticides (CUPs). However, its accuracy has hardly been studied. To assess effectiveness of PUF–PAS for measuring CUPs, 18 PUF–PAS devices were deployed for 1–6 weeks at a school near banana plantations in Costa Rica. Simultaneously, every week air was sampled with high and low volume active air samplers (AAS) for 24 h and 7 days, respectively. Extracts were analyzed using microwave-assisted extraction and LC-MS/MS. Nine CUPs (ethoprophos, difenoconazole, cadusafos, chlorpyrifos, fenpropidin, fenpropimorph, pyrimethanil, spiroxamine, and terbufos) were detected by both PAS and AAS. Concentrations were highest for pyrimethanil (34.3 ng/m 3 ) followed by fenpropidin (9.0 ng/m 3 ) and terbufos (8.4 ng/m 3 ). An average sampling rate of 3.4 m 3 /day was estimated for PUF–PAS using Lo-AAS data, like previously reported in literature. After 3 weeks of deployment, PUF–PAS detected eight out of nine pesticides, similar to the AAS methods. However, after 4 weeks of deployment, substantial losses (≥50%) were observed for all CUPs except pyrimethanil, likely due to oxidative degradation. We therefore recommend a maximum deployment time of 3 weeks under tropical conditions. These findings support PUF–PAS as a cost-effective alternative for AAS in tropical regions.