Adapting current model with field data of related performance reference compounds in passive samplers to accurately monitor hydrophobic organic compounds in aqueous media.

Performance reference compounds (PRCs) are neutral organic compounds, introduced in a passive sampler prior deployment for the assessment of in situ sampling rate. In this study, evaluation of in situ sampling rates of 16 C-PAH-PRCs with moderate and high hydrophobicity was established to provide an overall correction factor for variations in virtual organism (VO) uptake rates of the analytes of interest. In situ sampling rate was compared to an empirical model during sampling campaign in 2011 with VO in 12 different sites along the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) in China.