Surface Water Field Instructions
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 Sentinel™ Passive Sampler can be entered on a row. One Chain of Custody Form holds information for up to 20 Sentinel™ Passive Samplers.
2. If the deployment plan includes a field blank, leave the field blank in the tube in which it was shipped, clearly mark the tube “Field Blank.” Do not deploy the field blank.
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 Sentinel™ Passive Sampler to the 50 mL tapered centrifuge tube in which it was shipped.)
4. Remove the Sentinel™ Passive 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.
5. When deploying the Sentinel™ Passive Sampler in surface water, to the extent possible, the hole in the body containing the media should be submerged during the deployment. For static or slowly moving surface water, the Sentinel™ Passive 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:
- 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. Plan to bring ~50 mL of DI water to rinse each Sentinel™ Passive Sampler at retrieval.
9. At retrieval, record on the row in the Chain of Custody Form corresponding to the Sentinel™ Passive Sampler:
- The date retrieved;
- The time retrieved to the nearest 15 minutes;
- The water temperature in °C.
(The water temperature could be recorded at deployment.)
10. Briefly rinse the Sentinel™ Passive Sampler with 50 mL of DI water to remove most dirt and debris before shipment.
11. Replace the Sentinel™ Passive 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 Sentinel™ Passive Sampler in the resealable plastic bag or other return packaging.
12. Place all Sentinel™ Passive Samplers in refrigerated packaging and ship using at most two-day delivery to laboratory for analysis.