-><-Whole air sampling is typically done with canisters or Tedlar bags to take a "snapshot" of an entire air sample and test for chemicals that may be present. Grab sampling is a form of whole air sampling. Whole air samplers test for gases and are often used to sample volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

What is whole air sampling?

• Whole air samplers measure gas phase chemicals
• Whole air samplers typically test for 40-100 different chemicals
• Whole air samples are often used as a diagnostic tool to narrow down what you are looking for

How is whole air sampling different from sorbent tube sampling?

When would you need a whole air sample?

• Identifying an unknown smell: You smell something noxious and want to do a test
• Risk assessment and hazard mitigation: You're concerned there's something bad in the air
• Narrowing the scope: You're not sure what you're looking for and want to test for a wide range
• Ambient air monitoring: You want to take a baseline air sample for a given area

This post is part of the Bucket Monitor project.

For more information, see our introduction and project overview.

Subscribe to the tag "bucket-monitor" to get updates when we post new material.

Subscribe to get updates on this project

Image credit USEPA Environmental-Protection-Agency