1.  Your order will be shipped with carbonless Chain of Custody Forms for recording all required information. If more are needed, print sufficient Chain of Custody Forms so that relevant data for each PassiveX™ Sampler can be entered on a row.  One Chain of Custody Form holds information for up to 15 PassiveX™ Samplers.  Alternatively, you can download the PassiveX™ e-Chain of Custody Form, record information electronically, and ship the information in electronic format to the commercial lab of your choice.

2.  If the deployment plan includes a field blank, leave the field blank in the tube in which it was shipped until you arrive at a field location. Remove the PassiveX™ Sampler from the tube for about the time it typically takes you to deploy a sampler. This will allow you to capture any background contamination that may have been present in manufacturing, shipping, and during a typical deployment. Return the PassiveX™ Sampler to its tube and clearly mark the tube “Field Blank.”  It is not necessary to deploy the field blank in either DI water or in the surface water, as any potential contamination in these settings are typically not what is intended to be measured by a field blank for a passive sampler.

3.  Make provisions to save the 50 mL tapered centrifuge tube and the resealable plastic packaging for reuse in shipment to the lab.  (No need to match the PassiveX™ Sampler to the 50 mL tapered centrifuge tube in which it was shipped. Any clean tube will suffice.) 

4.  Remove the PassiveX™ Sampler from the 50 mL tapered centrifuge tube.  It is shipped with a metal tag attached to the flat end that can serve as a weight, if desired. 

5.  When deploying the PassiveX™ Sampler in surface water, to the extent possible, the hole in the body containing the media should be submerged during the entire deployment.  For static or slowly moving surface water, the PassiveX™ Sampler can be anchored to a metal post, and the attached metal tag will provide sufficient weight to keep the square end of the body submerged.  For more rapidly flowing surface water, a sturdier mechanism (e.g., a cinder block) may be required to keep the sampler submerged. 

6.  At deployment, record on the Chain of Custody Form or the e-Chain of Custody Form: 

• The sample ID number (the serial number on the metal tag or other identification system appropriate to your deployment); 
• The date deployed; 
• The time deployed (to the nearest 15 minutes); and 
• The water speed at the sample site (either 0-2 cm/min if stagnant, or > 2 cm/min) 

7.  For most applications, a deployment of approximately 10-14 days duration will be sufficient to achieve a limit of detection of ~1-2 ng/L (ppt) for all PFAS analytes in EPA Method 1633.

8. In some locations, it is possible that the PassiveX™ Sampler will accumulate some dirt or debris during a typical deployment. In most cases, the commercial lab can address this during their analysis. Alternatively, the field team can "swish" the sampler in the water before removing it. Or, you can plan to bring ~50 mL of DI water to rinse each PassiveX™ Sampler at retrieval.

9. At retrieval, record on the row in the Chain of Custody Form or the e-Chain of Custody Form corresponding to the PassiveX™ Sampler: 

• The date retrieved; 
• The time retrieved to the nearest 15 minutes; 
• The water temperature in °C. 

(Alternatively, the water temperature could be recorded at deployment.) 

10. Remove any large debris from the body of the Passive™ Sampler before restoring to a 50 mL tapered centrifuge tube for shipment. Alternatively, a light "swish" in the water, or use 50 mL of DI water to remove most dirt and debris before shipment.

11. Replace the PassiveX™ Sampler in a 50 mL tapered centrifuge tube and tighten the cap.  Be sure to record the sample ID on the label on the outside of the tube. Place the tube with the PassiveX™ Sampler in the resealable plastic bag or other return packaging.

12.  Place all PassiveX™ Samplers in refrigerated packaging per EPA Method 1633 and ship using at most two-day delivery to laboratory for analysis.