Investigation and estimation of emission sources of 54 volatile organic compounds in ambient air in Tokyo

Atmospheric concentrations of 52 hydrocarbons and two aldehydes at roadside and urban sites in Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan were analyzed using GC/MS and HPLC. Monthly sampling was conducted during April 2003–March 2005. Annual average concentrations of individual volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at the roadside site were 1.7–1.9 times higher than at the urban site, suggesting that vehicle exhausts strongly affect VOC concentrations. Since high temperatures and under the stagnant meteorological conditions might increase VOC concentrations in air, the levels of alkanes, alkenes, and aromatic hydrocarbons rose in summer and autumn in 2003 and 2004. The VOCs concentrations against benzene (VOCs/Bz) suggest classifying three groups of VOCs: those mainly from mobile emission sources, those mainly from stationary sources, and those comprising unstable compounds such as aldehydes and 1,3-butadiene. The VOC/Bz technique was applied to registered VOC data from the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR). Results show that these VOCs in ambient air in Tokyo reflect the PRTR estimated release amounts. The VOC/Bz technique based on environmental monitoring data is useful to estimate non-registered VOCs such as butane and isopentane. Results show the possibility of estimating emission sources using VOC/Bz ratios from environmental monitoring data, even when sufficient information on the emission sources are not available.