In situ application of stir bar sorptive extraction as a passive sampling technique for the monitoring of agricultural pesticides in surface waters

Grab sampling and automated sampling are not suitable or logistically too constraining for the monitoring of pesticides in dynamic streams located in agricultural watersheds. In this work, we applied stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) Twisters® directly in two small rivers of a French vineyard (herein referred to as “passive SBSE”), for periods of one or two weeks during a month, for the passive sampling of 19 agricultural pesticides. We performed qualitative and semi-quantitative comparisons of the performances of passive SBSE firstly to automated sampling coupled to analytical SBSE, and secondly to the polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS), a well-known passive sampler for hydrophilic micropollutants. Applying passive SBSE in river waters allowed the quantification of more pesticides and in greater amounts than analytical SBSE as shown for samples collected concurrently. Also, passive SBSE and POCIS proved to be complementary techniques in terms of detected molecules; but only passive SBSE was able to integrate a concentration peak triggered by a quick flood event that lasted 5 h. Passive SBSE could be an interesting tool for the monitoring of moderately hydrophobic to hydrophobic organic micropollutants in changing hydrosystems. In this purpose, further studies will focus on the accumulation kinetics of target pesticides and the determination of their sampling rates.