Effect of anthropogenic activity on formate and acetate levels in precipitation at four sites in Agra, India

Twenty-four-hour precipitation samples from four sites: Dayalbagh (DB), Hari Parvat (HP), Taj Mahal (TM) and Udyog Kendra (UK) in Agra city, during the monsoon season (July–September) of 1991, were analysed for formate and acetate. Each site was representative of a different level of anthropogenic activity. The formate/acetate ratio observed appeared to be characteristic of the dominant activity at the site; the geometric means of the formate/acetate ratios calculated for individual samples were 0.99, 0.17, 0.83 and 0.21 for DB, HP, TM and UK, respectively. These corresponded to the level of pollution at the site. Direct acetate inputs from extensive combustion and automobile exhaust could contribute to elevated levels of the species at two of the four sites. Another possible indirect input could be from the alkaline hydrolysis of PAN, aided by relatively high pH values of rain water (volume-weighted averages = 6.79, 6.69, 7.22, 7.15) at the four sites.