Ethylene vinyl acetate polymer as a tool for passive sampling monitoring of hydrophobic chemicals in the salmon farm industry

Current monitoring programs are focused on hydrophobic chemicals detection in aquatic systems, which require the collection of high volumes of water samples at a given time. The present study documents the preliminary use of the polymer ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) as a passive sampler for the detection of a hydrophobic chemical used by salmon industries such as cypermethrin. Initially, an experimental calibration in laboratory was performed to determine the cypermethrin equilibrium between sampler and aquatic medium, which was reached after seven days of exposure. A logarithm of partitioning coefficient EVA–water (log KEVA–W) of 5.6 was reported. Field deployment of EVA samplers demonstrated average concentrations of cypermethrin in water to be 2.07 ± 0.7 ng L−1 close to salmon cages, while near-shore was 4.39 ± 0.8 ng L−1. This was a first approach for assessing EVA samplers design as a tool of monitoring in water for areas with salmon farming activity.