Calibration of the Ogawa passive ozone sampler for aircraft cabins

Elevated ozone levels in aircraft cabins would pose a health hazard to exposed passengers and crew. The Ogawa passive sampler is a potentially useful tool for measuring in-cabin ozone levels. Accurate interpretation of measured values requires knowing the effective collection rate of the sampler. To calibrate the passive sampler for the aircraft-cabin environment, ozone was measured simultaneously with an Ogawa sampler and an active ozone analyzer that served as a transfer standard, on 11 commercial passenger flights, during Feb–Apr 2007. An empirical pressure-independent effective collection rate that can be used to convert nitrate mass to ozone mixing ratio was determined to be 14.3 ± 0.9 atm cm3 min−1 (mean ± standard error). This value is similar to estimates from other applications where airflow rates are low, such as in personal monitoring and in chamber studies. This study represents the first field calibration of any passive sampler for the aircraft cabin environment.

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► Passive samplers can facilitate ozone monitoring in aircraft cabins.
► We report the first field calibration of the Ogawa sampler in aircraft cabins.
► Ozone was actively and passively measured on 11 flights in Spring 2007.
► We estimate an in-flight effective collection rate of 14.3 ± 0.9 atm cm3 min−1.
► The estimated sampling rate is similar to others from environments with low airflow.