A study of volatile organic sulfur emissions causing urban odors

Levels of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur containing organic compounds were studied in the air at the deltas of the polluted creeks in the city of Izmir, Turkey in summer 2001. High concentrations of these malodorous compounds were measured in the air samples. Presence of these compounds in the air was connected with the dark appearance and rising gas bubbles in the studied segments of the creeks. These creeks were like open sewers carrying wastewaters from the industry and residential areas into the inner Izmir Bay until September 2001.