Toxic Substances in the Atmospheric Environment Discussion

The Critical Review on Toxic Substances in the Atmospheric Environment was presented by Bernard D. Goldstein at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Air Pollution Control Association in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Goldstein summarized his paper, which had been published in the May 1983 issue of JAPCA. Prepared discussions presented at the Critical Review Session are reproduced here. In addition, comments made from the floor and through the mails have been formalized and are published along with closing remarks by Dr. Goldstein. Dr. Paul J. Lioy served as Moderator for the 1983 Critical Review Session.     

A Critical Review Discussion Papers

The Critical Review on Motor Vehicle Inspection/Maintenance Programs was presented by John C. Elston at a Session at the 74th Annual Meeting of APCA in Philadelphia. Mr. Elston summarized his paper which had been published in the May 1981 of JAPCA. Prepared discussions which were presented by Mr. Cackette, Mr. Weaver, Dr. Jones, and Mr. Wallis are reproduced here. In addition, comments made from the floor by Dr. McKee, Mr. Pattison, and Mr. Seliber have been formalized and are presented here along with the discussion from the floor. Mr. Elston responds to the comments of his peers. Dr. Melvin W. First was Moderator of the Session.     

A Critical Review

The Critical Review Session on Atmospheric Dispersion Modeling was attended by nearly 400 people at the 72nd Annual Meeting of APCA at Cincinnati. D. Bruce Turner, whose paper appeared in the May 1979 Journal, summarized his findings. Prepared discussions which were presented by Dr. Egan, Dr. Spengler, and Mr. Mirabella are reproduced here with the floor discussion and a response by Mr. Turner. One of the important aspects of the Critical Review Program has always been the emphasis on this open discussion of the subject under review by peers of the author. Dr. Melvin W. First was Moderator of the Session.     

Ozone Air Quality Models Prepared Discussion

The APCA Critical Review entitled “Ozone Air Quality Models” was presented by John H. Seinfeld, Louis E. Nohl Professor and Executive Officer for Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California. Dr. Seinfeld presented his review at the 81st APCA Annual Meeting & Exhibition, held in Dallas, Texas in June 1988. The Critical Review paper, published in the May 1988 issue of JAPCA, highlighted recent advances and continuing problem areas in photochemical air quality modeling. Prepared discussions and floor comments presented during the Critical Review session in Dallas are published here, along with additional comments and closing remarks by Dr. Seinfeld. Howard M. Ellis, Chairman of the Critical Review Subcommittee of the Publications Committee, served as moderator of the 1988 APCA Critical Review session.     

Soil Remediation Techniques at Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites

The A&WMA Critical Review entitled “Soil Remediation Techniques at Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites” was presented by Ronald C. Sims, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Utah State University, Logan, Utah. Dr. Sims presented his review at the 83rd Air & Waste Management Association Annual Meeting, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in June 1990. Prepared discussions presented during the Critical Review session are published here, along with some closing remarks by Dr. Sims. Ronald Harkov, Chairman of the Critical Review Subcommittee of the Publications Committee, served as moderator of the 1990 A&WMA Critical Review session.     

Incineration of Hazardous Waste

The APCA Critical Review entitled "Incineration of Hazardous Waste" was presented by E. Timothy Oppelt, Chief, Thermal Destruction Branch, Alternative Technologies Division of U.S. EPA’s Hazardous Waste Engineering Research Laboratory (Cincinnati). Mr. Oppelt presented his review at the 80th APCA Annual Meeting & Exhibition, held in New York City in June 1987. The Critical Review paper, published in the May 1987 issue of JAPCA, examined the current state of knowledge regarding hazardous waste incineration in an effort to put the technical and environmental issues into perspective. Prepared discussions presented during the Critical Review session are published here, along with additional comments and closing remarks by Mr. Oppelt. Howard M. Ellis, Chairman of the Critical Review Subcommittee of the Publications Committee, served as moderator of the 1987 Critical Review session.     

Introduction to the Air & Waste Management Association's 30th Annual Critical Review

This marks the 30th year of the Air & Waste Management Association's Critical Review Program. The Critical Review is a feature of A&WMA's Annual Conference, and is directed by the Critical Review Committee. The committee evaluates several topics each year, selects the best for presentation, and invites an individual (or group) to prepare the Critical Review Paper. This paper is thoroughly reviewed by the committee members and a panel of experts. After presentation of the review by the authors (typically on the Wednesday of the Annual Conference), there is a panel discussion and question-and-answer session. Panel members are invited to prepare their comments on the Critical Review, which, along with audience comments and the author's closing statements, are published in the Journal.     

Industrial Pollution Prevention

The 1992 A&WMA Critical Review was authored by Harry Freeman and members of his staff at the Pollution Prevention Research Branch, Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Freeman presented the paper "Industrial Pollution Prevention," at the Critical Review session held during the 85th Air & Waste Management Association Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. Prepared discussions and invited comments presented during the session are published here, as well as closing remarks by Mr. Freeman.     

Air Pollution Control Association Critical Reviews Program

This is the fourth in the series of Critical Reviews commissioned by the APCA Board of Directors. The first Critical Review "Regulations for the Control of Particulate and Sulfur Oxides Emissions" was published in 1974 and the topic is still timely. The second Critical Review "Regulations for the Control of Hydrocarbon Emissions (from Stationary Sources) and Odorous Pollutants" was published in 1975. In light of recent developments concerning hydrocarbon emissions from stationary sources, this Critical Review is again very timely. The third Critical Review "The Effect of Air Pollution Control Regulations on Land Use Planning" will soon be published in final form. Now we have the fourth in the series, "A Critical Review of Air Pollution Index Systems in the United States and Canada" and "Status Report on Federal Regulations for New Source Performance Standards".     

Oxalic Acid in PM2.5 Particulate Matter in California

ABSTRACT

Ambient air monitoring for organic acids in PM₂₅ was conducted at several locations in California. During the study, it was found that oxalic acid (ethanedioc acid) was the most abundant organic acid found in the PM_{2 5} fraction. Samples from Azuza (in southern California), San Jose (in the San Francisco Bay area), and Fresno (in central California), a PM_2.5 Super Site, were collected in 1999 and analyzed. The results for oxalic acid concentrations during this monitoring effort are presented.     

Air Quality: Status,Management and Direction

The Tenth Government Affairs Seminar conducted by the Air Pollution Control Association was held in Washington, D.C. on March 17–18, 1982. The APCA Government Affairs Committee of which John S. Lagarias is Chairman, sponsored this meeting. Dr. Jerry Pell was General Chairman of the Seminar Steering Committee which included in its membership: Gordon M. Rapier, Vice-chairman, William K. Bonta, Facilities Chairman, Barbara Bankoff, David Benforado, D. Kent Berry, Samuel Booras, William Chapman, Stanley Coloff, Philip T. Cummings, Roy S. Denham, Gerald P. Dodson, Daniel Dreyfus, Raymond W. Durante, Victor S. Engleman, Richard Grundy, W. G. Hamlin, Glenn Hanson, G. Steve Hart, Terrence Li Puma, Michael Lukey, John E. Maroney, William Megonnell, Curtis A. Moore, Russell Mosher, Joseph Mullan, Sidney R. Orem, Dennis G. Seipp, Martin L. Smith, Roger Strelow, Michael Tinkleman, Neal Troy.

This meeting served as a forum for discussion of the issues of: the Clean Air Act amendments, regulatory reform, international perspectives on acid rain, and new directions pursued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Representative Henry A. Waxman, Chairman, Subcomittee on Health and the Environment, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives, was the keynote speaker. The Honorable C. Boyden Gray, Counsel to the Vice President of the United States was the luncheon speaker on Wednesday. Daniel J. Goodwin, President, State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators, was the luncheon speaker on Thursday.

Session 1. entitled “The Clean Air Act: Legislative Status,” was moderated by G. Steve Hart, President of APCA. Session 2. “Regulatory Reform,” was chaired by Richard N. Holwill, Vice President for Government Information, The Heritage Foundation. The Honorable A. Alan Hill, and Gordon Snow, from the President’s Council on Environmental Quality were co-moderators for Session 3. which was entitled, “Acid Rain: International Perspectives.” Session 4. “Critical Issues,” was moderated by Walter C. Barber, Jr., Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Condensed versions of the remarks of the participants are presented here. A more extensive summary of the meeting which includes floor discussion is available in the Proceedings of the Tenth APCA Government Seminar which can be obtained from APCA headquarters.     

Total Anthropogenic Suspended Particulate as Derived from Chemical Analysis of Chloride and Silicate on High-Volume Samples

Extensive chemical analysis of suspended particulate was undertaken by the Bay Area Air Pollution Control District, so that more meaningful interpretation of total mass loading data could be made and more serious problem areas detected. From high-volume samples taken with cellulose paper as the collection medium, analyses were performed for the five heavy metals and nitrate, sulfate, chloride, silicon, and total organics (loss on ignition at 550°C).

Two constituents considered primarily nonanthropogenic, silicate and chloride, were evaluated from eight sampling sites. The data were derived from over 600 individual samples, one sample per week per site. The locations have diverse geographical backgrounds, although they lie in a common air basin. For example, a 21 month average for chlorides ranged from 4.2 µ/m³ at San Francisco to 1.7 µg/m³ at Livermorè some 40 miles inland. Inversely, the total silicates increased from 5.7 µg/m³ at San Francisco to 22.6 µg/m³ at Livermore. The silicate values peak strongly in the dry season, with individual 24 hr silicate component values greater than 60 µg/m³ at inland stations. Wind-generated dust from the bare hills of the Coast Range is the most probable source.

Since the silicates and chlorides are primarily non-anthropogenic, they were excluded from the TSP values to give a total anthropogenic suspended particulate (TASP). The TASP values for the Bay Area show a geographic distribution in much closer conformity to visibility reduction and citizen complaint than do TSP values.     

Notes From The National Air Quality Conference

The National Air Quality Conference, which was held during January 14-16 in San Francisco, promised to “provide decision-makers in government, business, and labor with information on the possible economic and employment impacts of the federal Clean Air Act along with strategies for change.” The meeting appeared to be important from the standpoint of who was speaking, who was attending, and who was reacting. JAPCA asked Francis J. O’Donnell, editor of Air/Water Pollution Report, to provide this special report.     

Oxalic acid in PM2.5 particulate matter in California

Ambient air monitoring for organic acids in PM2.5 was conducted at several locations in California. During the study, it was found that oxalic acid (ethanedioc acid) was the most abundant organic acid found in the PM2.5 fraction. Samples from Azuza (in southern California), San Jose (in the San Francisco Bay area), and Fresno (in central California), a PM2.5 Super Site, were collected in 1999 and analyzed. The results for oxalic acid concentrations during this monitoring effort are presented.     

Identification of weather patterns impacting 24-h average fine particulate matter pollution

Methods are presented to extract intra-seasonal meteorological patterns at three scales to explain 24-h fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) pollution events: evolving large-scale meteorological scenarios, synoptic regimes driving diurnal variability near the surface, and localized meteorological triggers. The methods were applied to understand how winter weather conditions impacted PM_2.5 around the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA). Analyzing data across 12 winters (November–March) ensured robust characterization of the SFBA conditions. SFBA 24-h PM_2.5 exceedances (35 μg m^?3) required several simultaneous characteristics: a ridge of aloft high pressure moving over SFBA, providing weak surface pressure gradients over Central California; persistent easterly flows through SFBA extending vertically to around the 925-hPa pressure level; orographically channeled winds resulting from stability; enhanced nocturnal cooling under clear-sky conditions providing for enhanced drainage flows off the Central California slopes; and at least two consecutive days of these conditions.     

Development of a low-cost air sensor package and indoor air quality monitoring in a California middle school: Detection of a distant wildfire

A low-cost air sensor package was used to monitor indoor air quality (IAQ) in a classroom at the Albany Middle School in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. A rapid increase in carbon dioxide (CO₂) was observed in the classroom as soon as it is occupied. When the classroom is unoccupied, the CO₂ levels decay slowly toward the outdoor background level. All high CO₂ concentrations observed inside the classroom, above the outdoor background, was due to exhaling of the occupants. The CO₂ concentrations generally exceed the recommended level of 1000 ppb towards the end of the school day. The exceedances and slow decay may suggest that the ventilation rate in this school is not sufficient. The particulate level in the classroom was low until a distant wildfire advected large amount of particulate matter to the San Francisco Bay Area. Very high (10–15 times compared to the background) particle numbers (per m³ of particles with diameter >0.3 µm) were observed in the classroom during the wildfire. These particles were relatively small (0.3–1.0 µm) and the filters (MERV 8) of the ventilation system were unable to filter them out. Therefore, the measurements made by low-cost particle counters can inform the school administrators of adverse IAQ during future wildfire (or other combustion) events. The particle number was independent of the occupation before and during the wildfire suggesting that all observed particles were infiltrated into the classroom from outside. Consistent with previous studies, no appreciable increase in the local ambient CO₂ background was observed during this distant wildfire event.

Implications: Low-cost air sensors are effective in monitoring indoor air quality in classrooms. The CO₂ levels in classrooms are mainly generated indoors due to exhalation of occupants. Concentration of CO₂ generally exceed the recommended level of 1000 ppb towards the end of the school day. In contrast, the particulate matter mostly comes from outdoors and small particles penetrate though the filters normally used at schools. Distant wildfires do not increase the local CO₂ background appreciably, but significantly increase the particulate matter concentrations both indoors and outdoors. Further investigations are needed to assure that ventilation rates in classrooms are sufficiently health protective.     

Stationary Combustion NOX Control A Summary of the 1989 Symposium

This paper summarizes information and results presented at the 1989 Symposium on Stationary Combustion NOX Control, held March 6-9, 1989 in San Francisco. Cosponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) the symposium was the fifth in a biennial series.     

A PAH fate model for San Francisco Bay

A mass balance model was applied to simulate the long-term fate of PAHs in San Francisco Bay. The model treats the Bay as a single box with interacting water and sediment compartments, and includes loading, volatilization, outflow to the ocean, degradation, and burial in deep sediment. The estimated time required for loss of one-half of the mass in the Bay in the absence of loading ranged from 20 d for naphthalene to 5 yr for benzo(b)fluoranthene. Uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo simulation indicated a high degree of influence and uncertainty for degradation rates, suggesting that improved estimates of degradation would significantly improve the predictive ability of the model. A comparison of model calculations to literature values suggested that external PAH loading to San Francisco Bay was at or above previous estimates of 3600 kgyr(-1), and that degradation in the Bay was within the range of commonly published estimates for high molecular weight PAHs (4.0 x 10(-5) to 4.0 x 10(-4)d(-1)).     

Comparison of life-cycle energy and emissions footprints of passenger transportation in metropolitan regions

A comparative life-cycle energy and emissions (greenhouse gas, CO, NO_X, SO₂, PM₁₀, and VOCs) inventory is created for three U.S. metropolitan regions (San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City). The inventory captures both vehicle operation (direct fuel or electricity consumption) and non-operation components (e.g., vehicle manufacturing, roadway maintenance, infrastructure operation, and material production among others). While urban transportation inventories have been continually improved, little information exists identifying the particular characteristics of metropolitan passenger transportation and why one region may differ from the next. Using travel surveys and recently developed transportation life-cycle inventories, metropolitan inventories are constructed and compared. Automobiles dominate total regional performance accounting for 86–96% of energy consumption and emissions. Comparing system-wide averages, New York City shows the lowest end-use energy and greenhouse gas footprint compared to San Francisco and Chicago and is influenced by the larger share of transit ridership. While automobile fuel combustion is a large component of emissions, diesel rail, electric rail, and ferry service can also have strong contributions. Additionally, the inclusion of life-cycle processes necessary for any transportation mode results in significant increases (as large as 20 times that of vehicle operation) for the region. In particular, emissions of CO₂ from cement production used in concrete throughout infrastructure, SO₂ from electricity generation in non-operational components (vehicle manufacturing, electricity for infrastructure materials, and fuel refining), PM₁₀ in fugitive dust releases in roadway construction, and VOCs from asphalt result in significant additional inventory. Private and public transportation are disaggregated as well as off-peak and peak travel times. Furthermore, emissions are joined with healthcare and greenhouse gas monetized externalities to evaluate the societal costs of passenger transportation in each region. Results are validated against existing studies. The dominating contribution of automobile end-use energy consumption and emissions is discussed and strategies for improving regional performance given private travel's disproportionate share are identified.