Capital and Operating Costs of Selected Air Pollution Control Systems—IV

Previous articles in this series discussed the equipment costs of control devices, gas conditioning equipment, hoods, ductwork, and dampers. In this article, the discussion will concern the fans and associated components required to convey the gas stream from the initial pollutant source to the control device.     

Capital and Operating Costs of Selected Air Pollution Control Systems—V

Several methods are available for estimating the capital costs of systems and each has its own degree of accuracy. These methods range from presenting overall installed costs on a per unit basis, to detailed cost estimates based on preliminary designs, schematics, and contractor quotes. The least accurate method is the equating of overall capital costs to a basic operating parameter such as tons per hour or cfm since this method only produces accuracies in the "order of magnitude" category, at best. The detailed cost estimate, in turn, can produce accuracies of ±5 % depending on the amount of preliminary engineering involved. These estimates, however, take many months of engineering effort and require process and engineering flow sheets, material and energy balances, plot plans, and equipment arrangement drawings before a cost estimate can be developed. For first-cut estimating purposes, the technique described in this article for developing capital costs for a specific pollution control system is based on the factored method of establishing direct and indirect installations costs as a function of known equipment costs. The cost factors developed are based on both quoted and estimated installation costs of pollution control systems. The annual operating costs for these systems are based on unit costs for utilities and operating and maintenance labor together with fixed percentages of capital costs for the indirect costs.     

Air Pollution Resulting from Incineration—its Reduction and Control

Historically, in evaluations of the impact of power plant emissions, the region of concern was generally the immediate vicinity (up to a radius of about 100 km) of the power plant in question, and the pollutant of concern was mainly sulfur dioxide emitted by the power plant. In most scientific work relating to atmospheric transport of emissions, little or no attention was given to the regional (up to a radius of about 1000 km) transport of pollutants. Recently, however, more emphasis has been placed on the evaluation of regional transport^1-8.     

Air Pollution Administrative Control—A Local Responsibility

Chemical, analytical and biological studies were completed on the organic matter of large air pollution samples from Detroit. The high tumor response observed on mouse skin when the organic matter was applied in 12.5 per cent concentration can be partially explained by the presence of poly nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as tumor initiators and certain acidic components as tumor promotors. Certain polaric neutral components of still unknown nature are indicated also to act as tumor promotors. The concentrations of PAH in various locations in Detroit and New York during different seasonal, meteorologic and traffic conditions are compared.

The relative importance of carcinogenic air pollutants in man’s environment is discussed in line with epidemiological evidence.     

State and Local Air Pollution Control Agency Salary Levels—1971

This paper is an examination of the range of salary levels of state, local, and multijurisdictional air pollution control agencies for specific occupational categories. It is based on a manpower and training survey of such agencies conducted by the Office of Air Programs of the Environmental Protection Agency during 1971. Since inadequate salaries have been identified as a primary obstacle in staffing air pollution control agencies, an analysis of salary levels was among the focal points for the survey.

Salaries were found to vary according to occupational category, type of agency, and size of agency. In most instances, salary levels increase as the size of the agency increases. Mean starting salaries have risen significantly since 1968, and salaries for chemists and engineers are becoming more competitive with salaries in private industry.     

The Petroleum Refining Industry—Air Pollution Problems and Control Methods

Polyurethane foam was incorporated as a prefilter on standard hi-volume samplers of the National Air Sampling Network (NASN) in an exploratory study. The foam selectively filtered particles of various sizes. The characteristics of the particles passing through the foam approached the respirable size fraction as defined by reports of the Atomic Energy Commission. The respirable fraction was then collected on a glass-fiber filter. Parameters such as pore size and thickness of the foam, air flow rates, and loadings were studied to determine their effects on the filtration of “respirable” dust. Ambient air was the particulate source, and sizing was accomplished by an Andersen sampler coupled with nephelometric analyses. Some sizing was also done microscopically. The foam was evaluated at several locations to account for possible variations in ambient air over areas of different industrial complexity.     

APEX—A Training Exercise for Air Pollution Control Officers

All of the problems and politics, pride and passions of administering the public sector and operating within the private sector of a metropolitan area not unlike Lansing, Mich., are compressed into hours in an air pollution control exercise developed for NAPCA by the Air Pollution Control Institute, University of Southern California. Recently, a group at Research Triangle Park, N. C, played through several cycles of the game and in making role decisions experienced the situations described in the following formal report:     

The Province of Ontario’s Air Pollution Control Program

The Province passed an Air Pollution Control Act in 1958 which delegated control of all types of air pollution to the municipalities. This was amended in 1963 with the Province assuming control of industrial sources of air pollution and the municipalities retaining control of combustion sources. The paper outlines the comprehensive program adopted by the Province. It points out that while control is a primary function, other functions such as ambient air quality sampling, the collection of micro meteorological data, co-operation with other governmental agencies in agriculture, planning and zoning, economics and development, and water pollution are a vital part of the program. In light of the experience to date, an attempt is made to predict the organization necessary for the future.     

Canada’s Mobile Sources Air Pollution Control Program

The chemical and optical properties of particle emissions from onroad vehicles were investigated at the Allegheny Tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike during July 1981. The optical results are in agreement with earlier data: (1) in terms of light extinction per km driven, diesel particle emissions are at least an order of magnitude more important than particle emissions from spark-ignition vehicles; (2) for diesel particle emissions, light absorption is about twice as efficient as light scattering. Chemical analyses showed that: (1) 24% of the vehicle aerosol was extractable material, (2) 75% of the total mass was carbon, (3) 55% of the total mass was unextractable (elemental) carbon, and (4) the stoichiometry of the extractable fraction of the diesel particle emissions was C_nH_t.7nN_0.05n , i.e., the extractable material was composed predominantly of alkanes. The results of the chemical analyses allow the calculation of the massspecific light absorption coefficient for the elemental carbon component of the diesel particle emissions, i.e., 10.9 ± 1.8 m²/g (500 nm).     

The State’s Role in the Development of Local Air Pollution Control Programs

This paper examines the history of air pollution control in the State of New Jersey, particularly, how it relates to the development of the state-local governmental relationship, and to the coordination of their respective control efforts. It also describes the methodology for developing local control programs. The information presented in the paper is directed to those individuals who may be able to analogize the experience in New Jersey to situations developing in their own jurisdictions.     

Air Pollution Administrative Trends—the Canadian Scene

A re-organized local agency for the administration of an air pollution by-law in a group of adjoining municipalities now employs professional staff together with laboratories for air quality analyses, source testing, and applied research and new ideas in the development of improved fuel-burning and control equipment. The agency functions to prevent new sources of pollution, to disseminate information and advice and to provide leadership in the community. Its administrative activities include the use of consultants and outside research organizations for special problems and subjects of a political or controversial nature. However, to deal with the rare and complex contaminants which may be harmful to health now necessitates some assistance from the higher governments. The practices discussed have been employed for several years with general success in the Municipality, following closely the recommendations of a Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly of the Province which traveled and held hearings 1955 to 1957 in the major cities of the U.S.A. and Canada.     

Stainless Steel Anti-Smog Mufflers—Cut Air Pollution

An automatic process gas chromatograph has been developed for use on the recovery furnace stack of a Kraft pulp mill. The instrument analyzes for widely varying concentrations of H₂S, SO₂, CH₃SH and higher order sulfur compounds. It is insensitive to the fixed gases and water vapor, and performs its analysis in approximately ten minutes. The instrument features a microcoulometric detector giving it sensitivity to H₂S as low as 0.1 ppm, and SO₂ and CH₃SH as low as 0.5 ppm. The major limit to even higher sensitivity at this stage of development lies with two problems: the background noise level in the detector and the sulfur compound absorption in the Porapak Q chromatograph column. At the reported sensitivity, a 40-ml gas sample was used. The instrument also contains a data analysis system supplementary to the usual strip chart recorder. This system is made up of a digital voltmeter, a digital translator, and a teletype and hence allows the transfer of the output data to a digital computer for processing. The processed data are usually presented in the form of ppm quantities of the component gases in the stack gas. The instrument has worked successfully on small furnace effluent for periods of 25 hr but has not been tried on recovery furnace stacks. It has also run on prepared samples for periods of up to seven days with no maintenance or attendance necessary.     

Comment on “Mortality and Air Pollution: Revisited”

Abstract

Test-to-test variability has been observed by many current testing methods, including the Federal Test Procedure, the IM240 dynamometer test, the idle test common to many Inspection and Maintenance programs, and on-road remote sensing. The variability is attributable to the vehicle, not to the testing procedure. Because the vehicles are the dominant source of variability, the only way such vehicles can be reliably identified is through the use of multiple tests. The emissions variability increases with increasing average emissions, and it appears to be prevalent among the few newer technology vehicles with defective, but untampered, closed-loop emissions control systems (1981 and newer models). In one fleet the variable emitters constitute 2.2% to 4.8% of the vehicles and contribute 8.5% to 22% of the total carbon monoxide emissions. Scheduled I/M programs that fail to ensure repair of these vehicles allow a significant portion of vehicles with excess emissions to escape reduction measures.