Aldehyde concentrations in ambient air. Results of a one-year measuring campaign at two sites in the Netherlands
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Series / Report no.
Open Access
Type
Report
Language
en
Date
1997-04-30
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Title
Aldehyde concentrations in ambient air. Results of a
one-year measuring campaign at two sites in the
Netherlands
Translated Title
Aldehydeconcentraties in buitenlucht. Resultaten
van een eenjarige meetcampagne op twee locaties in
Nederland
Published in
Abstract
Buitenluchtconcentraties van vier aldehyden, nl.
formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, crotonaldehyde en benzaldehyde, zijn gemeten op
een stadsachtergrond- (Amsterdam) en een regionaal (Biddinghuizen)
meetstation gedurende ongeveer een jaar. De metingen werden verricht met
DNPH-geimpregneerde C18 cartridges met behulp van RP-HPLC-UV analyse. Er
werden monsters van 5 tot 8 uur genomen gedurende de nacht, de middag, en de
ochtend- en avondspits. De detectielimiten varieerden van 0.1 tot 1 mug m
exp. -3 met onzekerheden in gemeten concentraties van 10-15% voor
acetaldehyde en 25% voor de andere drie aldehyden. De gemiddelden over de
hele meetcampagne waren 2.8 en 2.5 mug m exp. -3 op de stadslocatie en
1.8 en 2.1 mug m exp. -3 op het regionale station. Benzaldehyde en
crotonaldehyde concentraties lagen vrijwel altijd beneden de detectielimiet
en waren in ieder geval niet hoger dan 0.3 mug m exp. -3. De
daggemiddelde maximumconcentraties van formaldehyde waren resp. 5 and 3.6
mg m exp. -3, hetgeen ver ligt beneden de maximaal toelaatbare waarde van
40 mug m exp. -3 voor deze component in Nederland. Uur- en daggemiddelde
waarden van acroleine op de twee meetlocaties werden geschat op minder dan
resp. 2 en 1 mug m exp. -3, hetgeen veel lager is dan de maximum
toelaatbare waarden van 20 resp. 6 mug m exp. -3. Hogere concentraties
kunnen voorkomen in drukke verkeersstraten, maar het is onwaarschijnlijk dat
de maximaal toelaatbare waarden worden overschreden. Uit het verloop van de
aldehydeconcentraties in relatie tot die van andere componenten werd inzicht
verkregen in de bijdragen van de belangrijkste bronnen. Dit blijken vooral
verkeersemissies en fotochemische reacties, en in mindere mate transport van
luchtverontreiniging vanuit het buitenland (o.a. Oost-Europa) te zijn.
Andere bronnen, zoals industriele of binnenlucht, zouden ook een rol kunnen
spelen, maar op grond van de resultaten van deze meetcampagne kan hierover
geen verantwoorde conclusie worden afgeleid.
Ambient air concentrations of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, crotonaldehyde and benzaldehyde, have been determined at an urban background (Amsterdam) and a rural site (Biddinghuizen) during approximately one year. Concentrations were measured with DNPH-coated C18 cartridges followed by RP-HPLC-UV analysis. Samples were taken during the night, during midday and during the morning and evening traffic peak hours. The detection limits were in the range of 0.1-1 mug m exp. -3 and uncertainties in concentrations were about 10-25%. The concentrations of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde (5- to 8-h averages) were in the range of 0.2 to 7 mug m exp. -3, with averages over the whole campaign of 2.8 and 2.5 mug m exp. -3 at the urban site, and 1.8 and 2.1 mug m exp. -3 at the rural location. Benzaldehyde and crotonaldehyde did not exceed 0.3 mug m exp. -3. The daily maxima of formaldehyde at the urban background and rural site were 5 and 3.6 mug m exp.-3, respectively, which is far below the maximum permissible concentration of 40 mug m exp. -3 for this compound in the Netherlands. Measurements of acrolein failed due to the instability of the acrolein derivatives on the cartridges. Daily average acrolein levels, estimated on the basis of the measured aldehyde concentrations and information from literature, were less than 1 mug m exp. -3, which is far below the maximum permissible concentration 6 mug m exp. -3. Substantially higher levels of formaldehyde and acrolein may occur in main traffic streets, but it is unlikely that maximum permissible concentrations will be exceeded. From the relationship between the courses of the aldehyde concentrations and those of other compounds it was found that the main sources of aldehydes appear to be direct emissions from traffic, formation in photochemical reactions and, to a smaller extent, long-range transport of air pollution from abroad (particularly eastern Europe). Other sources, e.g. industrial or indoor air, may also play a role but our data do not allow any valid statement about this.
Ambient air concentrations of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, crotonaldehyde and benzaldehyde, have been determined at an urban background (Amsterdam) and a rural site (Biddinghuizen) during approximately one year. Concentrations were measured with DNPH-coated C18 cartridges followed by RP-HPLC-UV analysis. Samples were taken during the night, during midday and during the morning and evening traffic peak hours. The detection limits were in the range of 0.1-1 mug m exp. -3 and uncertainties in concentrations were about 10-25%. The concentrations of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde (5- to 8-h averages) were in the range of 0.2 to 7 mug m exp. -3, with averages over the whole campaign of 2.8 and 2.5 mug m exp. -3 at the urban site, and 1.8 and 2.1 mug m exp. -3 at the rural location. Benzaldehyde and crotonaldehyde did not exceed 0.3 mug m exp. -3. The daily maxima of formaldehyde at the urban background and rural site were 5 and 3.6 mug m exp.-3, respectively, which is far below the maximum permissible concentration of 40 mug m exp. -3 for this compound in the Netherlands. Measurements of acrolein failed due to the instability of the acrolein derivatives on the cartridges. Daily average acrolein levels, estimated on the basis of the measured aldehyde concentrations and information from literature, were less than 1 mug m exp. -3, which is far below the maximum permissible concentration 6 mug m exp. -3. Substantially higher levels of formaldehyde and acrolein may occur in main traffic streets, but it is unlikely that maximum permissible concentrations will be exceeded. From the relationship between the courses of the aldehyde concentrations and those of other compounds it was found that the main sources of aldehydes appear to be direct emissions from traffic, formation in photochemical reactions and, to a smaller extent, long-range transport of air pollution from abroad (particularly eastern Europe). Other sources, e.g. industrial or indoor air, may also play a role but our data do not allow any valid statement about this.
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