The Use of a New Passive Sampler for Ozone and Nitrogen Oxides Monitoring in Ecological Effects Research

Abstract

A simple, cost-effective diffusive sampler is described that is suitable for measuring parts per billion (ppb) levels of ozone and nitrogen oxides. The diffusive sampler makes use of nitrite for ozone determination whereas for nitrogen oxides and nitrogen dioxide an active carbon tissue impregnated with sodium carbonate is used. Nitrate and nitrite, the formation of which is proportional to the pollutant concentration and sampling duration, are the two species analysed, respectively. Diffusion tubes have the advantage of being a lowcost, convenient way of mapping spatial distributions and investigating long-term trends of ozone and nitrogen oxides. The method is extremely useful for assessing long-term concentrations such as the annual mean for nitrogen oxides, as required by the Daughter Directive 1999/30/EC. Field tests to validate the method have been carried out at an urban background location with co-located passive samplers and continuous measurements of O 3 and NO x . An application in ecological effects monitoring for ozone is also presented.

Conditional Sampling of Passive Samplers: Application to the Measurement of 8 h Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide Concentration

“…The use of sodium nitrite allows for the sampling of ozone with good sensitivity, precision, and accuracy. Laboratory and field comparisons with the automatic analysers confirmed the good performance of the passive sampler [12]. However, to achieve such good results, the active surface of ozone should be protected from light because the nitrite ion is sensitive to solar radiation.…”

“…Passive samplers rely on diffusion to bring the pollutant into contact with a sorbent, offering a simple, low-cost, and effective monitoring system. Among diffusive samplers, the one based on the oxidation of nitrites to nitrates is the best candidate for ozone monitoring, and has been used in several measurement campaigns [12]. In addition, radial passive samplers characterised by a high sampling flow rate (81.5 ± 5.3 cm 3 min −1 ) have been considered for individual eight-hour sampling [13,14].…”

Feasibility of Indonesia Family Life Survey Wave 5 (IFLS5) Data for Air Pollution Exposure–Response Study in Indonesia

“…Low-cost methods were commonly used in spatial-based monitoring and LUR modelling [ 24 , 25 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. In UDARA, gaseous NO 2 and O 3 were measured with passive samplers [ 39 , 40 ] and PM 10 , PM 2.5 , PM 1.0 were measured with low-cost sensor (LCS) based on light scattering, similar to the study by Pope et al [ 41 ].…”

Assessment of the Possible Association of Air Pollutants PM10, O3, NO2 With an Increase in Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and Diabetes Mortality in Panama City

“…All the stations used the same standards and measurement protocols. 26 , 27 In 6 instances, there was a temporal interruption of a daily measurement; therefore we estimated the absent daily measurement by using the monthly mean of the contaminant of the pollutant-monitoring station where the value was not recorded.…”