Measurement of Atmospheric PAHs in Brisbane, Australia Using Active and Passive Samplers

Passive air samplers were deployed for up to 40 days alongside active air samplers at three sites across Brisbane, Australia, in order to measure the ambient air concentrations of the 16 US EPA priority pollutant PAHs plus a range of PAHs (e.g. retene, dibenzothiophene, 5 & 6 methyl chrysene) not previously measured using co-deployed active and passive air samplers. Passive sampling rates were calibrated at one location (South Brisbane), and applied across all sites. Ambient concentrations estimated from passive samplers were compared with those obtained using the active samplers. The two sampling methods gave agreement to within a factor of 2.3 in a majority of cases. At Woolloongabba the passive sampler’s overestimated ambient concentration while at Coopers Plains, the concentrations were underestimated. This may indicate a difference in environmental conditions between the sites, and demonstrates the need for sampling rates to be calibrated in-situ. In general ambient concentrations were higher at locations closer to main roads. The ambient concentration estimates determined through active sampling, ranged from 0.001ng/m3 (dibenz[a,h]anthracene) to around 7ng/m3 (naphthalene) with concentrations of most PAHs in the range of 0.1 – 0.9ng/m3. The concentrations observed were lower than recent PAH monitoring studies in Brisbane air