Inter-Urban Comparison of ambient volatile organic compound concentrations in US cities

Journal Article · Mon May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1989 · JAPCA, International Journal of Air Pollution Control and Waste Management; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/08940630.1989.10466561· OSTI ID:5032312

Edgerton, S A; Holdren, M W; Smith, D L ^[1]; Shan, J J ^[2]

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1. Battelle Columbus Division, OH (USA)
2. G2 Environmental, Inc., Portland, OR (USA)

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been the focus of recent research to determine which chemical constituents of ambient air may pose a significant health risk to the general population. Comparative analysis of VOC concentrations may suggest the need for health studies in a particular location, help in the identification of sources and source types, and indicated the need for additional monitoring. Comparisons of ambient VOC concentration data among nine US cities are presented using the recently compiled National Ambient Volatile Organic Compound Data Base. The comparison is based on the median of all daily concentration reported within the city limits of each selected city. The selection of the median value of daily averages allow the data to be minimally influenced by unusually high or low values. Here, we examine the use of aggregated national ambient data bases for comparison purposes. We examine the validity of using aggregated data by comparing VOC concentrations reported for several cities in the database with 24-hour average concentrations measured over the past year in those cities.

• OSTI ID: 5032312
• Journal Information: JAPCA, International Journal of Air Pollution Control and Waste Management; (USA), Journal Name: JAPCA, International Journal of Air Pollution Control and Waste Management; (USA) Vol. 39:5; ISSN JIJME; ISSN 0894-0630
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AIR POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DAILY VARIATIONS
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
INFORMATION
MATTER
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
URBAN AREAS
VARIATIONS
VOLATILE MATTER