Characteristics of odorous carbonyl compounds in the ambient air around a fishery industrial complex of Yeosu, Korea

In this study, the amounts of odorous carbonyl compounds (OCCs) including acetaldehyde (Acet-A), propionaldehyde (Pron-A), butylaldehyde (Buty-A), iso-valeric aldehyde (Iso-Vale-A) and n-valeric aldehyde (N-Vale-A) emitted from a fishery industrial complex near the exhibition facilities of “Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea” were measured. Acet-A was found to be the most abundant OCC, and the total concentrations of the OCCs were the highest in the summer. However, due to vehicular exhaust and photochemical reactions, the concentrations of some of the OCCs presented their highest levels in the fall. A significant correlation between Acet-A and Buty-A was found at the major fishery facilities (r = 0.816, p = 1.87E-15, n = 60) and at the border areas (r = 0.809, p = 3.40E-12, n = 48) of this fishery industrial complex. The concentrations of OCCs at the border areas were not worse than those at the urban areas in other places, indicating that the concentrations of ambient OCCs at the border areas were not greatly influenced by manmade activities.