Publication details
Series: NILU OR 60/2010
Publisher: NILU
Year: 2010
ISBN: 978-82-425-2276-4
File:
OR 60/2010 (pdf)
Summary: This report presents a comprehensive review of current literature on the abundance of amines in atmospheric aerosols. The review spans over the whole life cycle of aerosols, showing the relevance of amine-related aerosol dynamic processes in each stage of the cycle. Amine compounds can constitute a siginificant fraction of submicron ambient aerosols, in particular in urban air and close to agricultural sources. It is evident from both field experiments and computational studies that amines have the propensity to contribute to new particle formation. Particulate phase oxidation of amines leads to the formation of potentially toxic products such as imines and nitrosamines. In general, there is a lack of information about the acute and chronic toxic effects of particulate amides and imines, and also the chemical mechanisms leading to their formation in aerosol particles are currently not fully understood.