Benzene and Toluene concentration at different Traffic intersection during pre-mid-post winter season, in ambient air of Aligarh and its impact on human health

ABSTRACT

In current scenario, pollution in environment, is a big problem for all living species at around the world. We know that, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in presence of sunlight and oxides of nitrogen in atmosphere are considered as precursors for ozone production at the layer of Troposphere. Concentration of Benzene and Toluene (BT) in ambient air was measured near three major traffic sites in the city of Aligarh, India. All air samples were collected using for two times (in a month) during eight hours of normal working period time for in October – December 2020, and January - March 2021. The three selected sites used in this study represent traffic sites ( at Etah Chungi Chauraha, Quarsi Chauraha and Sootmil Chauraha, Aligarh ). In this study, real-time measurements of Benzene and Toluene concentration were performed the programmable compound specific PID detector designed to provide instantaneous exposure monitoring of a specific organic gas. It monitors a specific gas by utilizing a gas separation tube and the photo-ionization detector (PID) with a 9.8 eV gas discharge lamp (range- 50 ppb to 200 ppb) and whole data analyzed by SPSS software. The study the higher concentration 25.32 ?g/m3 of Benzene in the evening shows at site 3 and lower concentration 10.22 ?g/m3 of Benzene shows at site 2 in the morning. The higher concentration 22.22 ?g/m3 in the evening of Toluene shows at site 1 and lower concentration 07.10 ?g/m3 in the evening of Toluene shows at site 2, were observed respectively. Benzene and Toluene were widely used as a solvent in different products and petroleum. Exposure to a mixture of toluene and benzene in air led to an increase in the cytotoxic effect and DNA damage without any further repair and also its chronic effect on human health. The higher concentration of benzene and toluene co-exposure of benzene or toluene in this study. The relevance of these data on interactions for humans exposed at low benzene concentrations can be best assessed only when the mechanism of interaction is understood at a quantitative level and incorporated within a biologically based modelling framework for human health.