Evaluation of the Presence of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Outdoor Air in Tîrgu Mureş

Objectives: Many toxic compounds are present in automobiles exhaust gases. Concentration of these compounds is markedly increased when a defective engine is running. Presence of exhaust gases was linked with asthma, neurotoxicity, cancer and other serious health hazards. The goal of this work was to measure the concentration of volatile organic compounds that are present in the atmosphere when a defective vehicle passes by.
Methods: A head space gas chromatographic technique coupled with flame ionization detection was used to measure total concentration of volatile organic compounds into the air.
Results: Unexpectedly high concentrations of volatile organic compounds, up to 1.04 mg C/L of air, were measured in outdoor air. Every day high number of children is passing through these tested areas when they go to school or back home from school being exposed to such high concentrations of pollutants.
Conclusions: Faulty cars are the major source of volatile organic compounds and children can be affected by exposure to peak concentrations of such substances.