Breakthrough of 1,3-Dichloropropene and Chloropicrin from 600-mg XAD-4 Air Sampling Tubes

Accurately measuring air concentrations of agricultural fumigants is important for the regulation of air quality. Understanding the conditions under which sorbent tubes can effectively retain such fumigants during sampling is critical in mitigating chemical breakthrough from the tubes and facilitating accurate concentration measurements. Using laboratory experiments, we studied the effects of air flow rate (100–1000 mL min−1) and sampling time (2–16 h) on the breakthrough of co-applied chloropicrin (CP) and 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) from 600-mg XAD-4 sorbent tubes. Due to the reversible adsorption of the chemicals, it was not possible to determine a tube adsorption capacity that was true across all flow and sample time conditions. Flow rate exerted the stronger influence on breakthrough, particularly for CP, with flow rates in excess of 200 mL min−1 resulting in significant system losses even at the shortest sampling time (2 h). A flow rate of 200 mL min−1 should therefore not be exceeded, irrespective of flow rate. With the use of a single tube (no backup), sampling times up to 4 h showed no system losses (100 % retention). Using a primary and backup tube, sampling periods up to 16 h also resulted in retention of all the added chemical masses. The information will be useful in establishing effective air quality monitoring programs following fumigation events.