Performance Evaluation of a Very-low-volume Sampler for Atmospheric Particulate Matter

A cheap and small device for sampling atmospheric particulate matter (PM) has been recently developed. It works at a very low flow rate (0.5 L min(-1)) and is able to collect the atmospheric aerosol on filters, allowing subsequent chemical analyses. The samplings have a long duration (1-2 months), and the devices can be used to make cheap networks over a territory. These very-low-volume samplers (VLVS) can be used to trace long-term concentration variations and to draw up concentration maps of PM and its chemical components.