Isoprene from expired air inside a private car

The concentration of isoprene inside a small-sized parked private car with one person was found to be of the order of 20 μg/m3. Isoprene was then the major non-methane volatile hydrocarbon except in strongly traffic-polluted parking places. On driving, with intermediate fan ventilation, the isoprene levels were one order of magnitude lower. In the empty car, the concentrations were still much lower, proving that isoprene originates predominantly from expired air. Air samples were taken on triple-layer adsorbent cartridges and were analysed for volatile hydrocarbons by gas chromatography after thermal desorption. The analytical aluminium oxide column permitted simultaneous determination of a range of reported traffic-emitted hydrocarbons including the carcinogenic 1,3-butadiene and benzene.