Atmospheric Concentrations of Semivolatile Bifunctional Carbonyl Compounds and the Contribution from Motor Vehicles

Seven potentially harmful bifunctional carbonyls were measured in particulate and gaseous phases at a roadside site and a suburban site in an area about 30 km north-northwest from Tokyo metropolitan area in the Kanto region in Japan. For the first time, these compounds were measured in both phases with a time resolution of 2 h. We found that wind direction is an important parameter that affects the collection of these compounds near the source, and it can cover the effects of other important variables. Our results confirmed that motor vehicles and especially diesel fuelled vehicles are important sources of these compounds. Photochemical generation is also an important source of these compounds in the gaseous phase. Transportation from the urban area is also important, particularly in the aerosol phase.