The fraction of atmospheric semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC) is partitioned between the gaseous and particulate phases. Certain of these compounds eg. polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and their derivatives have been shown to exhibit mutagenic or carcinogenic properties. Emissions from diesel engines are an important source of these contaminants. In a dilution chamber, we studied a diesel engine emissions. It is shown firstly, that the gaseous fraction is predominant (by up to 20 times) with respect to the particulate phase. Secondly, the polar compounds, neglected in the majority of previous studies, are the predominant species. A test campaign was carried out in Paris-Porte d'Auteuil which yielded similar results to the laboratory experiments
