Abstract
Trace organic compounds were measured in air and rainfall at a rural site in Texas. Chlorinated hydrocarbons and phthalic acid esters (PAEs) were present at concentrations of ng m−3 in air and ng L−1 in precipitation. The most abundant compounds measured in air were PAEs > toxaphene > chlordane > hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) > others. In rainfall the concentration order was PAEs > toxaphene > HCHs > DDTs > chlordane >- PCBs > others. An inverse correlation between concentration and rainfall amount was observed for most compounds. A model of precipitation scavenging of these compounds considered both scavenging of gas-phase and particle-bound compounds from the atmosphere. Good agreement was obtained between theoretical and measured concentrations. Results indicate that scavenging of a small amount of particle-bound compound can account for >98% of wet deposition for insoluble organic pollutants. Gas-phase scavenging is important for the more soluble compounds such as HCH.
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Atlas, E., Giam, C.S. Ambient concentration and precipitation scavenging of atmospheric organic pollutants. Water Air Soil Pollut 38, 19–36 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00279583
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00279583