[Urban air pollution by carcinogenic N-nitrosamines]

Moscow is used as an example to discuss the problem of urban atmospheric pollution by carcinogenic N-nitrosamines. An analytical method is proposed, which is based on the use of a Russian gas chromatograph compatible with a chemiluminescence detector, that is a TEA thermal energy analyzer (USA) having some modifications to reduce the time of analysis and loss during sample pretreatment. The minimal detected concentration is 3 ng/m3 for 2-hour sampling. The method identifies and quantifies 7 volatile N-nitrosamines: N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiethylamine, N-nitrosodibutylamine, N-nitrosodipropylamine, N-nitrosopiperidine, N-nitrosopyrrolidine, N-nitrosomorpholine. The pollution of the Moscow air was evaluated in the center of Moscow (30-60 ng/m3 for NDMA), in the industrial emission area (as high as several hundred ng/m3, and in the heavy traffic area (100 ng/m3 or more). It is proposed to study the working area for rubber and tire industries, to establish nitrosamine tolerances for these industries and maximum allowable discharge concentrations in the urban air and to monitor these parameters.