Effect of analytical techniques on measured ambient NO2 concentrations

A study was carried out with specific reference to NO2 measurements in three countries (designated as A, B and C), which use three different manual methods; viz. Sodium Arsenite, Greiss Saltzman and TGS-ANSA for the determination of NO2 in ambient air. Significant deviation (up to 36 + %) was observed in measured NO, ion concentration when spiked samples were analyzed using these methods. Further, to make the data inter-comparable, exhaustive laboratory studies were carried out on these manual methods. Different concentration levels of NO2 were generated in the laboratory and analyzed by these methods simultaneously. The results were evaluated statistically. An interrelationship among the methods was established as method conversion factors (MCF). This would be useful in relating atmospheric concentration of NO2 among various countries, where different measurement techniques are adopted.