VOLATILE ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS IN AMBIENT AIR - MEASUREMENT AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

A method for the automated and inattended measurement of aromatic and halogenated compounds in ambient air has been developed and tested. Th e method is based on trapping ambient air on an adsorption tube follow ed by thermal desorption and gaschromatographic analysis. After 1 1/2 years of measurements at a measurement site in the agglomeration of Zu rich enough data are available to allow a characterization of the immi ssion concentrations of benzene. toluene, ethylbenzene, m/p-xylene, o- xylene, dichlorodifluoromethane (FCKW-12), 1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroeth ane (FCKW-113), trichloromethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, tetrachlorome thane, trichloroethene, and tetrachloroethene.