Airborne particulate samples collected at various residential areas in Japan weresubjected to multielement analyses by instrumental neutron activation and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence. The 110 analytical data thus obtained, each consisting of measured atmospheric concentrations of various elements, were examined and compared to one another from the view point of characterizing the elemental air pollution. It was attempted to find out reasonable measures which make it possible to grasp simply and clearly the features of elemental air pollution. The following are presented in this article.
(1) Measured elemental concentrations show a log-normal distribution.
(2) The geometric mean concentration appears to be more suited for expressing the average concentration than the arithmetic mean concentration.
(3) The ratio of measured concentration to geometric mean concentration, which we call “relative concentration”, is considered to be a simple and convenient measure for grasping the features of elemental air pollution.
(4) The degree of areal variation in atmospheric concentration can be more reasonably expressed by the geometric standard deviation than by the variation coefficient.

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An investigation for estmation of reactivity of hydrocarbons in photochemical reactions and usability of photoionization detector to analysis hydrocarbons in the atmosphere were made based on analysis of the data publiched by Kopzynski et al. by ionization potential of hydrocarbons, and negative co-relationship was found between indicater of reactivity of hydrocarbons and their ionization potentials. The results for consumption rate constant of alkanes and alkenes were negative linear co-relationship between consumption rate constant and ionization potential of alkanes and alkenes on the semilogalithm graph. Relation between rate constant of oxidation of nitrogen monoxide in the presence of alkanes or alkenes and ionization potential of alkanes and alkenes were negative co-relationship. Butthese relationships deviated a little from negative linear co-relationship on the semilogalithm graph.It was concluded that the less ionization potential of hydrocarbons was low, the more reactivity of hydrocarbons in photochemical reactions was high, if their reactivity were compared within a series of hydrocarbons, and estimation of reactivity was made possible by ionization potential of hydrocarbons. Then to classify hydrocarbons in the atmosphere into groups by ionization potential with photoionization detector method is usefull.

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