Determination of extractable organohalogens in the atmosphere by instrumental neutron activation analysis

Summary

Air samples were collected at a downtown site in Beijing from January to July 2004 and analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) combined with organic solvent extraction method for the concentrations and distributions of extractable organohalogens (EOX), including extractable organochlorinated (EOCl), organobrominated (EOBr) and organoiodinated compounds (EOI). The concentrations of EOX were increasing in the order of EOCl >> EOBr ~ EOI in both gaseous and particulate phase. EOCl accounted for 75.8-100% and 83.7-100% of EOX in particulate and gaseous phase, respectively, suggesting that EOCl was the major component of the organohalogens in the atmosphere. In the plots of the logarithm of the EOX concentrations versus the reciprocal temperature, their linear relations were observed for EOCl (R = -0.9), for EOBr (R = -0.6) and EOI (R = -0.7) in gaseous phase, which indicated that the concentrations of EOCl, EOBr and EOI in gaseous phase exhibited a strong temperature dependence, i.e., their concentrations increased with increasing of temperature.