Use of XAD®-2 passive air samplers for monitoring environmental trends of PAHs, PCBs and pesticides in three different sites in Strasbourg and its vicinity (east of France)

Abstract The continuous release of hazardous chemicals to the atmosphere leads to the importance of their analysis in order to understand ambient air quality. In this study, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticide concentrations in the atmosphere were monitored using XAD ® -2 resin-based passive samplers. The study was performed in three sites in the vicinity of and within Strasbourg, France enclosing a rural site (La Wantzenau), an urban site (the botanical garden of the University of Strasbourg) and a suburban site (Robertsau) during four successive years. Sampling was done between April 22 and May 20 in 2013, April 07 and June 02 in 2014, April 28 and June 09 in 2015, and between April 15 and May 27 in 2016. Results showed a different behavior in pollutants accumulation between the rural and the urban sites. For instance, LMW PAHs were found in rural area while HMW PAHs were found in the urban area mainly due to vehicles emissions. For PCBs analyses, “Robertsau” and the “botanical garden” presented higher concentrations and a higher number of detected PCBs than “La Wantzenau”, with total trend for lighter PCBs contribution over the years. Finally, pesticides analyses showed different repartition based on the different pesticides used and arisen from domestic uses of from environmental release and decomposition by the different environmental and meteorological conditions that may have occurred.