title: Investigation of qualitative and quantitative of volatile organic compounds of ambient air in the Mahshahr Petrochemical Complex in 2009.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are human-made chemicals widely spread in the environment and produced by petrochemical industries and petroleum refineries. The aim of this research was to evaluate the distribution of VOCs in the ambient air of Mahshahr Petrochemical Complex, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was a cross-sectional research performed in 2009. We used the method numbered 1501, 1500, 2000, 1003, 1005, 1010, 2555, 1300 and 1400 of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for the sampling and analysis of compounds in the air. A total of 204 samples were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and a Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean of concentrations of the pollutants in the winter is less than in summer and a strong variation occurred among the sampling site, attributed to the change in meteorology. The results indicated high concentrations of benzene in most factories. In addition, a significant difference occurred between the concentrations of the compounds in the ambient air inside and outside the factories in both seasons (P<0.050).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It seems that the atmospheric conditions of the workplace affect the spreading of the pollutants, causing the concentration of the pollutants in the summer to be higher than in the winter. In addition, the frequent prevailing wind speed in the region plays a major role in the distribution of the pollutants from Mahshahr Petrochemical factories.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
authors.forename: Rohollah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maghsoodi Moghadam
authors.forename: Abdulrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bahrami
authors.forename: Farshid
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ghorbani
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mahjub
authors.forename: Dariush
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Malaki
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002617:Chemical Industry; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010578:Petroleum; D012621:Seasons; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D010578:Petroleum; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds
keywords: Air sampling; Iran; Petrochemical; Volatile organic compounds