Hotspot monitoring of BTEX concentrations at an international airport in South Africa

Airports are known air pollution hotspots due to the variety of fuel driven activities that take place within the confines of them. As such, people working within airports are particularly vulnerable to exposure of hazardous air pollutants, including a group of compounds known as BTEX (viz. benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene and xylenes). These compounds have been identified as being harmful to human and environmental health. Through the use of passive and active sampling methods the spatial and temporal variability of benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene and xylene concentrations within the international airport was investigated, and hotspot modelling conducted. The spatial investigation revealed that the BTEX hotspot was located in the vicinity of the main apron of the airport where fuel driven activities are heightened.