Optimization of U.S. EPA Method TO-11A for the Measurement of Carbonyls in Ambient Air

摘要

There are 188 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), or air toxics, regulated under the Clean Air Act (CAA) that are associated with a wide variety of adverse human health and ecological effects, including cancer, neurological effects, reproductive effects and developmental effects. The national air monitoring programs administered by EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), such as the National Air Toxics Trend Stations (NATTS), measure the levels of air toxics in the ambient air. EPA's most recently completed National Air Toxics Assessment has found that formaldehyde is one of the key pollutants in ambient air that drive cancer risk.~1 This and other carbonyls such as acetaldehyde are also important to the formation of ground level ozone, and as a result these chemicals are monitored nationwide at 27 different NATTS sites and at locations in the Photochemical Assessment and Monitoring Stations (PAMS) ambient air monitoring network.