Experimental study of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) concentrations in the air pollution of Tehran, Iran

Back ground: Urbanization and development has always been led to air pollution. Volatile organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) are known as one of the most important groups of air pollutants. The present study aims to measureand investigate the outdoor concentrations of BTEX in Tehran, Iran.
Methods and Materials: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)'s methods were applied to measure the concentrations of BTEX in winter and spring of 2015 at 46 stations as well as in July 2003 at 19 stations. Sample preparation and extraction were accomplished by CS2 solvent. Sample and data analysis were performed by Gas Chromathography (GC) and SPSS-16 software respectively.
In 2003, The BTEX pollutants were more observed in the eastern, central and southern zones of Tehran, respectively. The average concentrations of BTEX were 238, 130, 69 and 118 ppb, respectively. The benzene to toluene (B/T) ratios were between 0.8 to 3.2, which indicated the poor quality of gasoline. In 2015, the BTEX concentrations in District 19 (south of Tehran) were higher than eastern and central regions, which located in traffic zones with extensive development in public transportations.
Improvement of gasoline quality, renewal of private cars and development of subway and public transportation till 2015 can be considered as the most important factors in decreasingBTEX concentrations to allowable amounts. During this year, thehe average concentrations of BTEX were 5.3 ppb, 9.2 ppb, 1.5 ppb and 2.6 ppb, respectively. The B/T ratio was fluctuated between 0.39 to 0.76, which depicted the remarkable role of vehicle traffic in BTEX pollution.