Ambient air levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) in a medium size city in Northern Spain

Ambient concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) were measured by means of passive sampling at 40 sampling points in a medium-size city in Northern Spain, from June 2006 to June 2007. VOC and NO 2 samplers were analysed by thermal desorption followed by gas chro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2009-01, Vol.407 (3), p.999-1009
Main Authors: Parra, M.A., Elustondo, D., Bermejo, R., Santamaría, J.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air - analysis
Air Pollution - analysis
Applied sciences
Atmospheric pollution
Benzene - analysis
Benzene Derivatives - analysis
Circadian Rhythm
Exact sciences and technology
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Humans
Nitrogen Dioxide - analysis
Passive sampling
Pollutants physicochemistry study: properties, effects, reactions, transport and distribution
Pollution
Seasons
Spain
Spatial variation
Toluene - analysis
Traffic
Urban atmosphere
Urban Population
Vehicle Emissions - analysis
VOC
Volatile Organic Compounds - analysis
Xylenes - analysis
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Summary:Ambient concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) were measured by means of passive sampling at 40 sampling points in a medium-size city in Northern Spain, from June 2006 to June 2007. VOC and NO 2 samplers were analysed by thermal desorption followed by gas chromatography/mass-selective detector and by visible spectrophotometry, respectively. Mean concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, propylbenzene, trimethylbenzenes, and NO 2 were 2.84, 13.26, 2.15, 6.01, 0.59, 1.32 and 23.17 µg m − 3 respectively, and found to be highly correlated. Their spatial distribution showed high differences in small distances and pointed to traffic as the main emission source of these compounds. The lowest levels of VOC and NO 2 occurred during summer, owing to the increase in solar radiation and to lower traffic densities. Mean concentrations of benzene and NO 2 exceeded the European limits at some of the monitored points.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.10.032