Abstract
The paper presents and discusses the results of atmospheric air quality research conducted in 2012 with reference to the level of BTEX compounds in the Tri-City agglomeration—Gdansk, Gdynia, and Sopot (northern Poland). At the stage of BTEX sampling from the ambient air, Radiello® diffusive passive samplers were applied. The annual time-weighted average concentrations for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) in the Tri-City agglomeration were as follows: Gdansk—0.75 ± 0.67 μg/m3, 1.08 ± 0.43 μg/m3, 0.30 ± 0.12 μg/m3, 1.34 ± 0.52 μg/m3; Gdynia—0.66 ± 0.51 μg/m3, 0.88 ± 0.40 μg/m3, 0.24 ± 0.12 μg/m3, 1.15 ± 0.53 μg/m3; Sopot—0.63 ± 0.55 μg/m3, 0.84 ± 0.37 μg/m3, 0.13 ± 0.05 μg/m3, 0.67 ± 0.23 μg/m3. The values of the B:T:E:X inter-species concentration ratio and the toluene/benzene, (m, p)-xylene/benzene, o-xylene/benzene, (m, p)-xylene/ethylbenzene concentration ratio were also determined. Based on the results obtained, one can conclude that the main sources of emissions into the atmospheric air, regarding BTEX compounds in the Tri-City agglomeration, especially the Gdansk and Gdynia areas are motor vehicles powered by internal combustion engines and domestic heating systems characterized by low efficiency.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amodio M, de Gennaro G, Marzocca A, Trizioa L, Tutino M (2011) Monitoring of volatile organic compounds in the cities of the metropolitan area of Bari (Italy). Procedia Environ Sci 4:126–133
Atkinson R (2000) Atmospheric chemistry of VOCs and NOx. Atmos Environ 34:2063–2101
Bono R, Degan R, Pazzi M, Romanazzi V, Rovere R (2010) Benzene and formaldehyde in air of two winter Olympic venues of “Torino 2006”. Environ Inter 36:269–275
Bruno P, Caputi M, Caselli M, de Gennaro G, de Rienzo M (2005) Reliability of a BTEX radial diffusive sampler for thermal desorption: field measurements. Atmos Environ 39:1347–1355
Caselli M, de Gennaro G, Marzocca A, Trizio L, Tutino M (2010) Assessment of the impact of the vehicular traffic on BTEX concentration in ring roads in urban areas of Bari (Italy). Chemosphere 81:306–311
Chiang PC, Chiang YC, Chang EE, Chang SC (1996) Characteristics of hazardous air pollutants emitted from motor vehicles. Toxicol Environ Chem 56:85–104
Choi W, Faloona IC, McKay M, Goldstein AH, Baker B (2011) Estimating the atmospheric boundary layer height over sloped, forested terrain from surface spectral analysis during BEARPEX. Atmos Chem Phys 11:6837–6853
Colman Lerner JE, Sanchez EY, Sambeth JE, Porta AA (2012) Characterization and health risk assessment of VOCs in occupational environments in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Atmos Environ 55:440–447
Directive 2000/69/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
Fernandez-Villarrenaga V, Lopez-Mahia P, Muniategui-Lorenzo S, Prada-Rodriguez P, Fernandez-Fernandez E, Tomas X (2004) C1 to C9 volatile organic compound measurements in urban air. Sci Total Environ 334–335:167–176
Ho KF, Lee SC, Guo H, Tsai WY (2004) Seasonal and diurnal variations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere of Hong Kong. Sci Total Environ 322:155–166
Hoque RR, Khillare PS, Agarwal T, Shridhar V, Balachandran S (2008) Spatial and temporal variation of BTEX in the urban atmosphere of Delhi, India. Sci Total Environ 392:30–40
Hsieh CC, Tsai JH (2003) VOC concentration characteristics in Southern Taiwan. Chemosphere 50:545–556
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (1982) Evaluations of carcinogenicity risk to humans. IARC Monographs 29:93
Kansal A (2009) Sources and reactivity of NMHCs and VOCs in the atmosphere: a review. J Hazard Mater 166:17–26
Khoder M (2007) Ambient levels of volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere of greater Cairo. Atmos Environ 41:554–566
Kot-Wasik A, Zabiegała B, Urbanowicz M, Dominiak E, Wasik A, Namieśnik J (2007) Advances in passive sampling in environmental studies. Anal Chim Acta 602:141–163
Król S, Zabiegała B, Namieśnik J (2012) Measurement of benzene concentration in urban air using passive sampling. Anal Bioanal Chem 403:1067–1082
Kumar A, Víden I (2007) Volatile organic compounds: sampling methods and their worldwide profile in ambient air. Environ Monit Assess 131:301–321
Lan TTN, Binh NTT (2012) Daily roadside BTEX concentrations in East Asia measured by the Lanwatsu, Radiello and Ultra I SKS passive samplers. Sci Total Environ 441:248–257
Lan TTN, Minh PA (2013) BTEX pollution caused by motorcycles in the megacity of HoChiMinh. J Environ Sci 25(2):348–356
Lee SC, Chiu MY, Ho KF, Zou SC, Wang XM (2002) Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban atmosphere of Hong Kong. Chemosphere 48:375–382
Lü H, Wen S, Feng Y, Wang X, Bi X, Sheng G, Fu J (2006) Indoor and outdoor carbonyl compounds and BTEX in the hospitals of Guangzhou, China. Sci Total Environ 368:574–584
Ly-Verdú S, Esteve-Turrillas FA, Pastor A, de la Guardia M (2010) Determination of volatile organic compounds in contaminated air using semipermeable membrane devices. Talanta 80:2041–2048
Marć M, Zabiegała B, Namieśnik J (2014) Application of passive sampling technique in monitoring research on quality of atmospheric air in the area of Tczew, Poland. Int J Environ Anal Chem 94:151–167
Marć M, Zabiegała B, Simeonov V, Namieśnik J (2013) The relationships between BTEX, NOx, and O3 concentrations in urban air in Gdansk and Gdynia. Poland. Clean–Soil, Air, Water. doi:10.1002/clen.201300188
Miller L, Lemke LD, Xu X, Molaroni SM, You H, Wheeler AJ, Booza J, Grgicak-Mannion A, Krajenta R, Graniero P, Krouse H, Lamerato L, Raymond D, Reiners J, Weglicki L (2010) Intra-urban correlation and spatial variability of air toxics across an international airshed in Detroit, Michigan (USA) and Windsor, Ontario (Canada). Atmos Environ 44:1162–1174
Miller L, Xu X, Wheeler A, Atari DO, Grgicak-Mannion A, Luginaah I (2011) Spatial variability and application of ratios between BTEX in two Canadian cities. Sci World J 11:2536–2549
Monod A, Sive BC, Avino P, Chen T, Blake DR, Sherwood Rowland F (2001) Monoaromatic compounds in ambient air of various cities: a focus on correlations between the xylenes and ethylbenzene. Atmos Environ 35:135–149
Pennequin-Cardinal A, Plaisance H, Locoge N, Ramalho O, Kirchner S, Galloo JC (2005) Dependence on sampling rates of Radiello® diffusion sampler for BTEX measurements with the concentration level and exposure time. Talanta 65:1233–1240
Plaisance H, Leonardis T, Gerboles M (2008) Assessment of uncertainty of benzene measurements by Radiello diffusive sampler. Atmos Environ 42:2555–2568
Ras-Mallorqui RM, Marce-Recasens RM, Borrull-Ballarin F (2007) Determination of volatile organic compounds in urban and industrial air from Tarragona by thermal desorption and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Talanta 72:941–950
Roukos J, Locoge N, Sacco P, Plaisance H (2011) Radial diffusive samplers for determination of 8-h concentration of BTEX, acetone, ethanol and ozone in ambient air during a sea breeze event. Atmos Environ 45:755–763
Seethapathy S, Górecki T, Li X (2008) Passive sampling in environmental analysis. J Chromatogr A 1184:234–253
Tao S, Wang Y, Wu S, Liu S, Dou H, Liu Y, Lang C, Hu F, Xing B (2007) Vertical distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in atmospheric boundary layer of Beijing in winter. Atmos Environ 41:9594–9602
Urbanowicz M, Zabiegała B, Namieśnik J (2011) Solventless sample preparation techniques based on solid- and vapour-phase extraction. Anal Bioanal Chem 399:277–300
Wang DKW, Austin CC (2006) Determination of complex mixtures of volatile organic compounds in ambient air: an overview. Anal Bioanal Chem 386:1089–1098
Wang P, Zhao W (2008) Assessment of ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) near major roads in urban Nanjing, China. Atmos Res 89:289–297
Wang X, Sheng G, Fu J, Chan C, Lee SC, Chan LY, Wang Z (2002) Urban roadside aromatic hydrocarbons in three cities of the Pearl River Delta, People’s Republic of China. Atmos Environ 36:5141–5148
Yurdakul S, Civan M, Tuncel G (2013) Volatile organic compounds in suburban Ankara atmosphere, Turkey: sources and variability. Atmos Res 120–121:298–311
Zabiegała B, Kot-Wasik A, Urbanowicz M, Namieśnik J (2010a) Passive sampling as a tool for obtaining reliable analytical information in environmental quality monitoring. Anal Bioanal Chem 396:273–296
Zabiegała B, Urbanowicz M, Namieśnik J, Górecki T (2010b) Spatial and seasonal patterns of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes in the Gdańsk, Poland and surrounding areas determined using Radiello passive samplers. J Environ Qual 39:896–906
Zabiegała B, Urbanowicz M, Szymanska K, Namieśnik J (2010c) Application of passive sampling technique for monitoring of BTEX concentration in urban air: field comparison of different types of passive samplers. J Chromatogr Sci 48:167–175
Zabiegała B, Sărbu C, Urbanowicz M, Namieśnik J (2011) A comparative study of the performance of passive samplers. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 61:260–268
Zalel A, Yuval BDM (2008) Revealing source signatures in ambient BTEX concentrations. Environ Pollut 156:553–562
Zhang Y, Mu Y, Liu J, Mellouki A (2012) Levels, sources and health risks of carbonyls and BTEX in the ambient air of Beijing, China. J Environ Sci 24(1):124–130
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Agency of the Regional Air Quality Monitoring Foundation in the Gdansk Metropolitan Area (ARMAAG Foundation) for the access to the monitoring stations and to Michalina Bielawska for providing meteorological data.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Table S1
(DOC 32 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marć, M., Namieśnik, J. & Zabiegała, B. BTEX concentration levels in urban air in the area of the Tri-City agglomeration (Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot), Poland. Air Qual Atmos Health 7, 489–504 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-014-0247-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-014-0247-x