A portable sampling system was developed for the collection and concentration of a broad range of organic compounds from ambient air. The system is based on the use of three solid sorbent materials (Tenax-GC, Porapak R, and Ambersorb XE-340 arranged in series) through which air is drawn by a portable battery-powered pump. Two different portable pumps (DuPont P4000 and Spectrex PAS 3000) were used to power the portable sampling device in field evaluations of the system. The system was evaluated in field studies conducted in Dayton, Ohio; Los Angeles, California; Houston, Texas; Niagara Falls, New York; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; and Cincinnati, Ohio. Both indoor and outdoor environments were included among those sampled. Analyses were conducted for selected target compounds as well as additional broad-scan quantitative analysis of collected organic compounds. Analyses of the samples were accomplished using thermal desorption of the sorbent materials followed by capillary column gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Partial pre-analysis fractionation (based primarily on volatility) was obtained in some of the sampling applications demonstrating that in certain environments additional capacity beyond that of Tenax-GC may be required to sample low level organic atmospheric pollutants.