Aldehyde Concentrations in Ambient Air of Coastal Georgia, U.S.A.

Aldehydes are an airborne byproduct of many industrialprocesses, vehicle transportation, and emissions fromnumerous natural sources. To characterize aldehydeconcentrations in ambient air of the Savannah, Georgiaarea, air samples for 3 aldehydes (formaldehyde,acetaldehyde, and propionaldehyde) were collected atfive sites on a monthly basis over a 12-month periodfrom December of 1995 through November 1996. Four ofthe sites were in central Savannah and the fifth sitewas located in a rural area about 56 km south ofSavannah. During each 24-hr sampling episode, sampleswere collected in two 12-hr periods approximatingdaylight and nighttime hours, following U.S. EPAMethod TO-11. Formaldehyde concentrations ranged from0.17 to 6.80 g m^-3, acetaldehydeconcentrations ranged from 0.07 to7.60 g m^-3, and propionaldehyde levels rangedfrom 0.02 to 9.10 g m^-3. On average, thefour sites in Savannah had higher aldehydeconcentrations than the rural site (2.0 versus1.2 g m^-3 for formaldehyde, 2.3 versus1.7 g m^-3 for acetaldehyde, and 1.2 versus1.0 g m^-3 for propionaldehyde). The daytimeconcentrations for formaldehyde and acetaldehyde werehigher than the nighttime levels. The data from allthe sites were within published worldwide backgroundvalues for aldehydes.