Abstract

The most universal atmospheric pollutants present in the atmosphere are one of the representatives of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), popularly known as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) which have their origin from both natural and anthropogenic sources. These compounds make an important contribution in the formation of photochemical smog. In spite of the well known toxic effects of BTEX, data available on them in India is very limited and very less study have reported their levels in Indian metro-cities. This paper reviews the status of BTEX concentrations at different sampling points in the ambient air of Delhi in order to investigate their temporal and spatial distributions.

Key words: Atmosphere, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX), sampling points.