A passive sampler–GC/ECD method for analyzing 18 volatile organohalogen compounds in indoor and outdoor air and its application to a survey on indoor pollution in Shizuoka, Japan

A simple and reliable method was developed for analysis of 18 volatile organohalogen compounds (VOHCs) both indoors and outdoors, consisting of VOHC collection by a passive sampler, extraction with toluene by mechanical shaking, and automatic separation analysis by capillary gas-chromatography with electron capture detector (GC/ECD). The passive sampler is a porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tube (30.30±0.37 mm net collection length, 5.0 mm inside diameter, 0.990 g weight) uniformly packed with activated charcoal (194.4±3.8 mg). The procedure was applied to a field survey on indoor and outdoor VOHC pollution in Shizuoka, Japan. Ten VOHCs, including trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, and p-dichlorobenzene, were detected from indoor and outdoor air samples. The ratios of maximum to minimum VOHC concentrations, both outdoors and indoors, were large. The indoor and outdoor concentrations of 1,1-dichloroethylene, dichloromethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethylene were found to be similar. Indoor concentrations of trihalomethanes, p-dichlorobenzene and tetrachloroethylene were higher than those of outdoors.