PARENT SESSION
PW16 - Atmopheric Fate Processes
Wednesday, 20 November 2002
8:00 AM to 6:30 PM
Exhibit Hall

(P893) Air toxics study in Connecticut, 1998 - 2001.

Stapanskaite, Snieguole^*,1, Carley, Robert¹, Trahiotis, Michael¹, Perkins, Christopher¹, Nadim, Farhad¹, ¹ Environmental Research Institute - UConn, Storrs, CT, USA

ABSTRACT- The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Research Institute have developed the air toxics study in Connecticut in order to characterize the levels as well as spatial and temporal variations of toxics air pollutants in Connecticut. Two major groups of toxic compounds are discussed here: trace metals and organic toxics (volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbonyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)) . Samples for VOC and carbonyl compounds were collected over a continuous 24-hour period every sixth day for a one in a six day sampling schedule at six urban and one rural sites throughout Connecticut. PAH and metal samples were continuously collected over a one week period. Statistical analysis of the data was performed for the air toxic compounds that were detected more than 2/3 of the valid sampling events. The mean ambient concentrations of the trace metal and organic toxic compounds at the background (i.e. rural) site were lower than concentrations observed at the other urban sites in Connecticut. The mean ambient concentrations of selected PAHs, except napthalene, increased during the summer compared to other seasons. There did not appear to be a consistent seasonal trend for the metals and VOCs, except for 2-Butanone (MEK), in Connecticut. The ratio of toluene to benzene as an indicator of vehicular emissions ranged from 2 to 4. Trajectory analysis is presently being performed to determine the effects of air mass movements on the levels of air toxics in Connecticut.

Key words: air toxics, carbonyls, atmospheric, PAHs