- Recommendations for Further Study
- The results of this study suggest that benzene levels at petrol station perimeters adjacent to residential housing may be of some concern with respect to human health. More detailed monitoring at such locations is recommended in order to assess the scale of any problem and to accurately assess the relative contributions of emissions from the petrol station and from nearby road traffic.
- As a pilot study intended to provide a snap shot of levels of benzene in and around petrol stations, it has only been possible to draw broad conclusions on the efficacy of Stage I, and in particular Stage II, controls. Sites have been compared which have different characteristics in terms of layout, number of bays and the volume of traffic using adjacent road networks. It is recommended that in order to provide a more accurate analysis of abatement techniques monitoring is conducted at several petrol stations for a reasonable time period prior to the introduction of abatement techniques and for a similar period following installation of controls. Such an experimental design would reduce the number of factors other than abatement technique which may operate to cause variation in measured benzene levels. Sites being installed with both Stage I and II controls should be selected, particularly as the limited data from this study would suggest that Stage II controls may eliminate any problems associated with high benzene levels at site perimeters.
Report prepared by Stanger Science and Environment
Site prepared by the National Environmental Technology Centre, part of AEA Technology, on behalf of the UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
