The Office of Science and Research (OSR) initiated a project to monitor ambient air for volatile organic compounds (VOC) at six abandoned hazardous waste sites and one sanitary landfill in New Jersey. In the past, assessment of VOC emanating from hazardous waste sites received little attention as a major source of exposure to toxic materials. The objective of the present study was to attempt to characterize the variability and impact of levels of VOC near the selected locations. The sites chosen for this study represent a cross‐section of abandoned sites in New Jersey. At each site, VOC were collected using low flow (10–15ml/min) samplers for 24 hr/day for three consecutive days. The cartridges contained Tenax‐GC and were thermally desorbed and analyzed by capillary‐column GC using FID and ECD. Mass spectrometry was conducted on all samples. The results for 26 selected VOC are reported and are compared with the large OSR data set on background VOC levels in urban areas in New Jersey.