A modified polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS) could provide a convenient way of monitoring perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in water. In the present study, the modified POCIS was calibrated to monitor PFCs. The effects of water temperature, pH, and dissolved organic matter (DOM) on the sampling rate (R s) of PFCs were evaluated with a static renewal system. During laboratory validation over a 14-day period, the uptake kinetics of PFCs was linear with the POCIS. DOM and water temperature slightly influenced POCIS uptake rates, which is in consistent with the theory for uptake into POCIS. Therefore, within a narrow span of DOM and water temperatures, it was unnecessary to adjust the R s value for POCIS. Laboratory experiments were conducted with water over pH ranges of 3, 7, and 9. The R s values declined significantly with pH increase for PFCs. Although pH affected the uptake of PFCs, the effect was less than twofold. Application of the R s value to analyze PFCs with POCIS deployed in the field provided similar concentrations obtained from grab samples.

Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) have been universally detected in rivers, lakes and coastal waters that are affected by effluents from sewage treatment plants (STPs). In this study, the biological effects and bioaccumulation of PhACs were assessed in crucian carp (Carassius auratus) caged in an effluent-receiving river for 21 days. Compared with control fish in the laboratory and at a reference site, a significant reduction in hepatosomatic index (HSI) and increase in the biotransformation enzymes ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities were observed in the fish that was caged downstream from the STP outfall. In general, the total concentrations of PhACs detected in fish tissues were in the order as follows: liver > brain > gill > muscle > bile. The bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) for PhACs were between 195 and 2782 in the major storage tissue liver. The corresponding results for both risk quotient (RQ) and enhanced integrated biomarker response (EIBR) based on laboratory and field studies, respectively, indicated that environmental risk for adverse effects to aquatic organisms were clearly higher at the downstream of the STP outfall than at the upstream.