Atmospheric monitoring at an oil field in northern Kuwait using diffusive passive samplers

Abstract

Diffusive passive samplers (DPSs) were used to measure the time-averaged indoor and outdoor concentrations of NO2, SO2, H2S, NH3, and a selection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) [i.e., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, and M + P-xylene (BTEX) as well as nonane and octane] at a Kuwait Oil Company compound in north Kuwait over four seasons. The indoor locations represented typical office spaces while the outdoor ones represented a typical industrial site. Triplicate sets of DPSs along with field blanks were exposed at each location for 720 h on average. DPSs sampling concurred with measurements by continuous ambient air quality analyzers. Utilizing a scaling/calibration factor derived from the comparison between the two techniques, the hourly and daily concentrations were estimated allowing by which direct comparison with the Kuwait Environment Public Authority (KEPA) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQSs). The results reflected the meteorological conditions and the activities on ground during sampling. The variation between the measured concentrations was always less than 20% of the arithmetic average of the triplicate set which substantiated confidence in the results. The indoor monthly averaged concentrations of all compounds over the four seasons, except SO2, were higher than those measured outdoors with levels of NO2, SO2, H2S, NH3, and VOCs, being 11.512, 0.665, 6.496, 18.158, and 82.923 µg/m3, respectively. As for the outdoor concentrations, they were 11.080, 16.631, 1.206, 2.218, and 7.284 µg/m3 for NO2, SO2, H2S, NH3, and VOCs, respectively. The calculated hourly and daily concentrations showed the site concerned was in conformity with KEPA’s NAAQSs.