Assessment of population exposure to VOC in ambient atmospheres is receivin
g heightened interest as the adverse health effects of chronic exposure to
certain of these compounds are identified. Active (pumped) and passive samp
lers are the most commonly used devices for this type of monitoring. It has
been shown, however, that these devices, along with all other preconcentra
tion techniques, are susceptible to ozone interference. It is demonstrated
that this interference occurs even at low ozone concentrations and that it
may result in the under-estimation of population exposure. A convenient and
effective ozone scrubbing method is identified and successfully applied an
d validated for both active and passive samplers for a range of VOC.