ISSN:
1573-2959
Keywords:
air monitoring
;
chemical model
;
nitrogen oxides
;
passive sampler
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
Notes:
Abstract Measurement of nitrogen dioxide using passivediffusion tube over 22 months in Cambridge, U.K. areanalysed as a function of sampler exposure time, andcompared with NO2 concentrations obtained from aco-located chemiluminescence analyser. The averageratios of passive sampler to analyser NO2 at acity centre site (mean NO2 concentration 22 ppb)are 1.27 (n = 22), 1.16 (n = 34) and 1.11 (n = 7) forexposures of 1, 2 and 4-weeks, respectively. Modellingthe generation of extra NO2 arising from chemicalreaction between co-diffusing NO and O3 in thetube gave a ratio (modelled/measured) of 1.31 for1-week exposures. Such overestimation is greatest whenNO2 constitutes, on average, about half of totalNOx (= NO + NO2) at the monitoring locality.Although 4-week exposures gave concentrations whichwere not significantly different from analyserNO2, there was no correlation between thedatasets. At both the city-centre site and anothersemi-rural site (mean NO2 concentration 11 ppb)the average of the aggregate of four consecutive1-week sampler exposures or of two consecutive 2-weeksampler exposures was systematically greater than fora single 4-week exposure.The results indicate two independent and opposingsystematic biases in measurement of NO2 bypassive diffusion sampler: an exposure-timeindependent chemical overestimation with magnitudedetermined by local relative concentrations of NO andO3 to NO2, and an exposure-time dependentreduction in sampling efficiency. The impact of theseand other potential sources of systematic bias on theapplication of passive diffusion tubes for assessingambient concentrations of NO2 in short (1-week)or long (4-week) exposures are discussed in detail.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1006249016103
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