Abstract
Volatile organic compounds in rainwater and in the atmosphere were determined in Yokohama, Japan by purge and trap or adsorption column methods and GC/MS. The average concentrations of dichloromethane, toluene, chloroform, and 1, 2-dichloromethane in rainwater were 9.8, 2.4, 2.1, and 1.5 nmol/L. The contribution of rainwater to VOCs pollution in surface water can be significant. The relative standard deviations of VOCs were very high (140-730%) in rainwater. In contrast with the ion concentration, the VOCs concentrations in rainwater were not dependent on the precipitation intensity and were not high at the beginning of the precipitation. The scavenging effect below cloud level was very small for VOCs. The concentrations of VOCs in rainwater were dependent on their concentrations in the atmosphere near the ground with some exceptions, such as benzene.
