Development of Air Sampling Strategies for Monitoring Common Air Pollutants in a Mission Area at Camp Victoria in Kosovo—Stationary vs. Personal Monitoring

Abstract

It can be problematic to collect representative samples in the occupational environment of deployed soldiers using personal samplers. In this study, several air sampling strategies were examined to identify the most efficient method for collecting air samples that were representative of the soldiers’ exposure profiles at the Swedish KFOR Camp Victoria outside Pristina, Kosovo. Stationary monitoring was performed during two 5-day sampling campaigns, one in summer and one in winter. The acquired data were related to measurements obtained by personal monitoring of three and four subgroups, respectively. Patrolling soldiers, mechanics, and indoor workers were selected to represent groups with different exposure profiles, and the particles, metals associated with particles, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, and volatile organic compounds that they were exposed to were measured. Generally, low concentrations of the analytes were found in both sampling periods, but the variability was greater in the winter campaign. Samples collected by stationary samplers captured most of the variation in the personnel's exposure, according to principal component analysis (PCA). However, the results also indicate that personal exposure to most potential pollutants would be underestimated if a single outdoor station was used to monitor them. Nevertheless, combined data from stations located outdoors and in relevant microenvironments (workshop, office, and guard station) provided substantially better representation. Thus, it may be possible to obtain monitoring data without using personal samplers in these inherently problematic situations.

Keywords:

• aldehydes
• indoor-outdoor
• military
• NO₂
• PAH
• VOC

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are indebted to all the soldiers involved and the Swedish Armed Forces for participating in the study. Without excellent help from the two environmental health officers, Eva Andersson and Robert Sandsveden, the study would not have been realized. Erik Casselbrant, of the Armed Forces Centre for Defence Medicine, assisted skillfully during the winter sampling campaign.

Notes

^A Geometric mean.

^B Phenathrene, anthracene, and 2,3,5-trimethylnaphthalene excluded.

^A One on patrol, two at Base Camp.

^B All on patrol.

^C Station corresponding to the first group ( ^B All on patrol).

^D Naphthalene excluded.

^A Non-overlapping confidence intervals.