Relationship between Atmospheric Concentration and Emissions of VOCs Using Passive Sampler

In this study, the atmospheric concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was monitored by using passive samplers ; also, the relationship with emissions was investigated. Anthropogenic VOCs, such as benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene and 1, 4-dichlorobenzene, as well as biogenic VOCs, such as α-pinene, were monitored. The concentration of toluene was the highest among these VOCs, and the second highest was α-pinene. The concentration of benzene was below the environmental quality standard in Japan. The sector of emission sources of toluene, xylene and ethylbenzene were implied to be similar because their concentrations showed a high correlation with each other. The concentrations of toluene, xylene and ethylbenzene showed high correlations with the amounts of emissions based on the PRTR database. The concentrations of 1, 4-dichlorobenzene and α-pinene showed high correlations with the population and conifer covered area ratio, respectively. It was demonstrated that the atmospheric concentration of VOCs is influenced by emission sources in a relatively short distance