Measurements of the photodissociation constant for nitrous acid ( j HONO) were made at an urban site in Toronto, Canada, during the months of May–July 2005, using an optically thin actinometer. Operating details of the j HONO monitor are reported, along with laboratory tests. Measurements of j HONO were obtained for solar zenith angles ranging from 20–75∘, under clear and cloudy skies. Maximum error estimates on j HONO under clear skies range from 11% at sunrise, to 4% at solar noon, with a minimum detection limit of 5.7 × 10−4/sec for our actinometer. Measured clear-sky values of j HONO were compared with values calculated by a four-stream discrete ordinate radiative transfer (RT) model (ACD TUV version 4.1), and were found to be within better than 10% agreement for solar zenith angles < 65∘. For conditions of scattered cloud, enhancement and suppression of the j HONO values occurred by as much as 16%–70%, and 59%–80%, respectively. The integrated band area of the nπ∗ transition for gas-phase nitrous acid yields an oscillator strength, f = (1.06 ± 0.044)×10−3 (based on clear-sky data), 19.1% higher than the value reported by Bongartz et al. (1991). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]