Spatial Distribution and Temporal Trends of VOCs in a Highly Industrialized Town in Turkey

An extensive monitoring study of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was conducted at sites across the highly industrialized town of Dilovasi, northern Turkey to determine temporal and spatial trends in pollutant concentrations and relate to the effects of source locations, meteorology, and topography. Two-week passive samplers (Tenax tubes) were deployed at twelve sites from February to December 2012 and analysed using thermal desorption and gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (TD–GC-MS). Sampled total VOC (TVOC) levels were highest in the July through October period and were highest at low-altitude sites near industry facilities and vehicle traffic sources (148.3 µg/m 3 at site 11, 154.1 µg/m 3 at site 10) and lowest at high-altitude sites located furthest upwind from industry and traffic sources (78.4 µg/m 3 at site 5 and 78.5 µg/m 3 at site 6). Analysis of “T/B” ratios suggested that contributions to ambient VOC in Dilovasi are dominated by the town’s industrial sources. Meteorological conditions and the town’s basin topography were also found to significantly influence the city’s air quality, with strong winds from the NE observed to correlate with periods of higher sampled TVOC. Compared with other industrialized urban centers, the study revealed that there is significant toluene pollution in Dilovasi and recommended enhanced continuous monitoring at the city’s industrial and residential zones.