1Environmental Impacts and Risk Assessment Division, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nehru Marg, Nagpur -440020, India
Department of Chemistry, RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur-440 010, India
Benzene has been identified as a powerful carcinogenic agent by the World Health Organization. This study measured and analyzed ambient toxic benzene emissions at traffic junctions with high traffic flow, major petrol filling stations and some residential areas. Samples were analyzed by VOC analyzer based on GC-PID technique. A very high concentrations of benzene was observed at petrol filling stations (20.0 μg/m3), followed by traffic junctions (13.6 μg/m3). At residential areas (3.1 μg/m3), lower concentration of benzene was observed. The study indicates the impacts of petrol pumps and vehicular traffic on the background ambient levels of benzene at the residential sites. However, the levels of benzene were well within the National Ambient Air Quality Standards at all the residential locations. In view of the health impacts to commuter, nearby residents and occupational exposure preventive measures like use of CNG, installation of vapor recovery system at petrol pumps and use of mask by workers were urgently needed.
Benzene, Emissions, GC-PID, Traffic junctions, Petrol filling stations, Residential areas
