Determining factors for levels of volatile organic compounds measured in different microenvironments of a heavy traffic urban area

Highlights: • High roadside BTEX levels with diurnal patterns and species ratios showed predominant influence of traffic. • BTEX levels and species ratios obtained at ambient site indicate interactions of several influencing factors. • Effects of aging, local wind and regional transport on ambient BTEX were pronounced. • Traffic technology improvement during last decade lowered roadside BTEX and health risks. The levels of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) in a congested urban area of Hanoi were characterized in a winter and a transitional period in 2015. Monitoring was conducted at two roads simultaneously with traffic flows and one ambient site together with meteorology. Hourly and bi-hourly BTEX samples collected using charcoal tubes were analyzed by GC-FID. BTEX levels in winter, 131 ± 71 μg/m³ in heavy traffic Truong Chinh (TC) road, 101 ± 29 μg/m³ in small residential Nguyen Ngoc Nai (NN) road, and 30 ± 15 μg/m³ in the ambient air site (AA, about 150 m from each road) were 1.3–2.1 times higher than the respective levels in the transitional period. Hourly benzene levels exceeded the Vietnam national standard more frequently at TC (45%) than at NN (32%) and least at AA (5%) out of 120–180 measurements, respectively. Roadside hourly levels well reflected the diurnal traffic flow pattern and higher BTEX levels were measured at TC than NN. The ambient site exhibited lower BTEX levels and different diurnal patterns, with more pronounced evening peaks than morning rush hour peaks. BTEX pollution rose showed a strong influence of wind to levels measured at AA. Species ratios (T/B and X/E) showed typical ranges for traffic emissions at roadsides. Ratios for AA and NN after midnight with no vehicles operating showed the aging effects with typical low X/E ratios. Multivariate analysis results suggested association of gasoline vehicles with BTEX at roadsides. Backward trajectory analysis indicated potential regional transport of long-lived benzene associated with continental airmass categories. BTEX at TC our study were 2–3 times lower for every species compared to those previously reported, showing results of fuel quality and vehicle technologies improvement. Health risks of people working at the roadside also reduced by about 3 times during the 10 years.