| Abstract
| - The collection of whole air samples using SUMMApolished canisters has been a commonly usedtechnique for over a decade. This technique hasbeen examined for sample storage, analyte stability,and recovery for up to 45 compounds routinelydetected in ambient air. However, this technique isoften used for a more extended set of target analytesfor which little or no published validation data exist.This paper reports the accuracy, precision, andstorage stability results for 194 volatile organiccompounds generated in humidified ambient air andcollected in SUMMA polished canisters. In addition,instrument and method detection limits for the gaschromatography/multidetector (GC/MD) analytical system were determined from the resulting data. Asmall percentage of the study compounds displayedhigh variability, low recovery, or poor storage stabilityfor which qualitative only data can be generated withthis technique. However, 168 of 194 (86%) compoundsstudied appear to be amenable to the canistertechnique. This study shows that canisters are aviable collection and storage media for a variety ofcompound classes including alkanes, alkenes,alkynes, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, aromatics, andsulfur-containing compounds.
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