Comparison of ambient air sampling techniques for volatile organic compounds

Technical Report · Tue Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:6111844

Holdren, M W; Smith, D L; Smith, R N

A series of fourteen experimental sampling runs were carried out at a field site to collect data from several ambient-air-monitoring methods for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Ambient air was drawn through a sampling manifold and was continuously spiked with volatile organic compounds to give concentrations 1 to 3 micrograms/L above background air. The spiked compounds were chloroethene, 1,1-dicholorethene, dichloromethane, 3-chloropropene, 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane, trichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, benzene, tetra chloromethane, trichloroethene, toluene, tetrachloroethene, chlorobenzene, and 1,2-dimethylbenzene. Special canisters were utilized to collect whole air, time-integrated samples. An automated gas chromatographic system using capillary column separation and multiple detectors was used for analysis. These samples were analyzed by standard gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric techniques. For Tenax, precision values ranged from 8 to 16 percent.

• Research Organization: Battelle Columbus Labs., OH (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6111844
• Report Number(s): PB-86-120953/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
CHROMATOGRAPHY
FIELD TESTS
GAS ANALYSIS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MATTER
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
SAMPLING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPECTROSCOPY
TESTING
VOLATILE MATTER