A preliminary study of ambient air concentrations of benzene around service stations and distribution terminals in Europe

Report no. 94/53: CONCAWE initiated a programme to measure the ambient air concentrations of benzene in the vicinity of a number of gasoline stations and distribution terminals in Europe. The steps in the programme were: review previous studies measurement methodologies; establish sampling and analytical procedures; perform a pilot study to establish a protocol and validate techniques;conduct the main study.

The results showed benzene-in-air levels at the service station boundaries ranging from 1.6 to 119 vglm3, with the highest results generally recorded downwind of the service station. In general, the results obtained during the study were similar to previously reported levels for urban air.For distribution terminals the results indicated benzene-in-air levels of a similar magnitude.