Measurements of VOCs from the TAMS network
- Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)
- Battelle, Columbus, OH (United States)
- ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)
Target volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured at a network of urban air monitoring locations in Boston, Chicago, Houston, and the Seattle/Tacoma area. Following a pilot-scale field evaluation of available techniques for determining concentrations of VOCs in ambient air, a technique based on evacuated stainless steel canisters was selected to collect whole air samples. Twenty-four-hour integrated samples were collected every twelfth day at ten sites over a 2-year study period. Battelle Columbus Laboratory (BCL) analyzed the samples for 25 target VOCs using cryogentic focusing, gas chromatographic separation and mass selective detection with flame ionization detection as backup. Duplicate canister samplers were operated each sampling period at one of the ten sites in the Toxic Air Monitoring System (TAMS) network to estimate overall method precision. In addition, every 10th analysis was repeated by BCL to obtain a measure of analytical precision. Finally, each sampling period a clean evacuated canister was sent to Research Triangle Park to be filled with an audit gas mixture of known concentrations. The audit canisters were analyzed along with the routine field samples to estimate method accuracy. The target compounds found most ubiquitously were benzene, toluene, xylene, and ethylbenzene. These aromatic compounds were highly correlated and proportionally related in a manner suggesting that the primary contributors were mobile sources in all the urban locations studied. Annual median concentrations for target compounds ranged from 0.1 to 4.0 part per billion volume (ppbv) range, while individual 24-h occasionally reached as high as 20 ppbv. 10 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 6967152
- Journal Information:
- Air and Waste; (United States), Journal Name: Air and Waste; (United States) Vol. 42:10; ISSN AIWAE2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
ALKYLATED AROMATICS
AROMATICS
BENZENE
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
HYDROCARBONS
MATTER
MOBILE POLLUTANT SOURCES
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION SOURCES
TOLUENE
URBAN AREAS
USA
VOLATILE MATTER
XYLENES