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Elucidating Ambient and Indoor Sources of VOCs in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Md. Aynul Bari, SANCHITA PAUL, Nisha Ahamed, Christophe Walgraeve, Herman Van Langenhove, University at Albany, SUNY
Abstract Number: 600
Working Group: Source Apportionment
Abstract
Exposure to important ozone precursors i.e., VOCs is of interest because of their potential carcinogenic and other adverse effects on public health. Limited studies are available about ambient VOC levels in Dhaka, the Capital of Bangladesh. To our knowledge, this is the first exploratory study to understand ambient and indoor sources of VOCs in Bangladesh. The data used in this study was obtained from the Ghent University VOC study for Dhaka. Ambient and indoor concentrations of VOC were measured in urban and industrial locations during 2011 and 2013. Both ambient and indoor VOC samples (n = 54) were collected for three separate days (two during weekdays and one at weekend) at two durations (morning and evening) using Tenax TA tubes. A total of 84 VOC species were analyzed by thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Median ambient and indoor concentrations of total VOCs were 101 µg/m3 and 237 µg/m3, respectively. A multivariate receptor model positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to better interpret the complex nature of VOC sources. Traffic was identified as the dominant ambient source followed by industrial/vehicular evaporative and biomass emissions. Indoor sources include fragranced consumer products, floor and wall coverings, and deodorizers. Source-specific carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risk values were also calculated. Despite limited sample size, these findings offer preliminary information about different emission sources that influence VOC levels in Dhaka and this information can support policymakers in the development of appropriate plans or actions for controlling VOCs in the air.