Gas and Particle Emissions from Automobile Tires in Laboratory and Field Studies

This paper is directed to air pollution scientists interested in special mobile emission sources. The purpose was to determine the contribution which automobile tires make to air pollution. The gaseous hydrocarbon and sulfur compounds emitted in laboratory tests were identified. Although these hydrocarbons can participate in smog reactions, their mass emission rate is less than 0.1 % of the current exhaust hydrocarbon emission rate. Hydrocarbons from tires are not measurable near a freeway. The particulate emitted from tires ranges in size from 0.01 μm to more than 30 μm, with the larger particles dominating the total mass. Measurements along a California freeway showed that most of the tire debris had settled within 5 m of the pavement edge. Airborne rubber concentrations were less than 0.5 μg/m³, or less than 5% of the total tire wear. These field measurements confirm the indoor emission pattern and verify that tire wear products are not a significant air pollution problem.     

Workshop on Primary Sulfate Emissions

This article is a summary report on a workshop, Measurement Technology and Characterization of Primary Sulfur Oxides Emission from Combustion Sources, sponsored by the EPA Environmental Sciences Research Laboratory at Research Triangle Park, NC, held in Southern Pines, NC. The objectives of the workshop were: to review and discuss current measurement methods and problem areas for sulfur oxides emission with attention focused on sulfuric acid, sulfates, and sulfur-bearing particulate matter; to review and discuss emission data from various combustion sources operating under different conditions, which include various pollutant controls, fuel composition, excess boiler oxygen, etc.; to delineate and recommend areas in need of research and development effort. Scientists were invited to present the results of their studies on primary sulfate emissions. The 3-day workshop devoted one day to measurement technology, a second to characterization, and a third to critical assessment of the presented papers and development of summary working group reports on each half-day session of the initial 2 days. Thirty-one papers were presented by 29 participants on measurements and characterization. Four working group reports were developed and summarized in the last day. Highlights of the papers and reports are briefly reviewed. Workshop proceedings are available as an EPA publication.     

A Model for Uptake of Pollutants by Vegetation

A mass transfer approach is used in developing a practical mathematical model of gaseous pollutant uptake by leaves in which a series of resistances is summed across a concentration difference. The body of information presented in this paper is directed to plant pathologists or physiologists in the field of vegetal-pollutant effects and to people interested in the natural removal of air pollutants by vegetation. Correlations are given to calculate the aerodynamic and the stomatal resistances to uptake, while both a qualitative investigation and quantitative estimates are made of the mesophyllic resistance. The factors which control the aerodynamic resistance, r_a, are leaf size and wind speed, while the leaf physiology is the determinant of the stomatal resistance, r_s . It is noted that the chemical reaction rate and pollutant diffusivity in the mesophyll control the mesophyllic resistance, r_m, though the overall gas phase mesophyllic resistance, Hr_m, is strongly a function of pollutant solubility in water. Finally, the overall model is compared to earlier experimental work on vegetal uptake of SO₂.     

A Movable Laboratory for Controlled Clinical Studies of Air Pollution Exposure

The cause of the Yokkaichi asthma episode (1960-1969) has been analyzed. It Is concluded that the respiratory diseases were due not to sulfur dioxide but to concentrated sulfuric acid mists emitted from stacks of calciners of a titanium oxide manufacturing plant located windward of the residential area.     

The Inadequacy of PSD Increments to Protect Visibility in Class I Areas

This study includes an application of the first two phases of a new three-phased decision-making structure that was developed to overcome the problems related to ecological safety and social justice in site selection applications. It was conducted on a current site selection problem related to the municipal solid waste disposal facilities in Kocaeli, the most industrialized region of Turkey. In order to assess the deficiencies of the legal site selection procedures related to ecological safety, two different decision tree modes were applied separately. The first mode (“Legislation”) concerns the current buffer zone applications given in the regulations, while the second one (“Proposed”) includes the applications of the new decision-making structure proposed in this study. Since it was assumed that the subjective tendencies of the decision makers on the weightings would have a significant effect on the final decision, these two modes were assessed by employing two different weighting models. The results were obtained from all of the scenarios related to selection of suitable sites with three different area requirements (15, 250, and 500 acres) for the solid wastes generated in the Kocaeli region. The results showed that the possible changes in the decision structure could cause significant differences in the final decision related to selection of the most suitable sites. The most highest and lowest differences were at the “Legislation” mode for 15 acres and 500 acres, respectively. Furthermore, the results obtained in the study showed that the possible differentiations in the criteria weightings could also cause significant differences in the suitability ranking. Therefore, to get a reliable final decision, a statistical assessment of these differentiations should be made.

Implications: The results showed that the possible changes in the decision structure could cause significant differences in the final decision related to selection of the most suitable sites. Furthermore, the results obtained in the study showed that the possible differentiations in the criteria weightings could also cause significant differences in the suitability ranking. Therefore, to get a reliable final decision, a statistical assessment of these differentiations should be made.     

Empirical Relationships between Observed Ozone Concentrations and Geographical Areas with Concentrations Likely to Be above 120 ppb

The extent to which existing ozone monitoring data can be used to represent concentrations outside the area immediately surrounding a monitoring station is investigated. The results should be of Interest to those who wish to define areas within which standards are likely to have been exceeded. Relationships are established between the observed second-maximum hour-average ozone concentrations and the area within which It is possible to state with reasonable probability that National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) have or have not been exceeded. All pairs of SAROAD stations (Storage and Retrieval of Aerometric Data) separated by 500 km or less which had nearly complete annual data sets were considered for the years 1974 through 1977 to determine the probability that the NAAQS would be exceeded at one station of the pair, given station separation and the observed second-maximum hourly ozone concentration at the other station. The resulting relationship was applied to SAROAD data for 1977, and circles were drawn around each SAROAD monitoring site to show the area within which it is 90% probable that the 120 ppb NAAQS was exceeded during 1977.     

A Comparison of Two Techniques for the Collection and Analysis of Polynuclear Aromatic Compounds in Ambient Air

A demonstration of the GHEMFIX solidification/stabilization process was conducted under the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) program. The demonstration was conducted in March 1989, at the Portable Equipment Salvage Company (PESC) uncontrolled hazardous waste site in Clackamas, Oregon. Waste containing lead, copper, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from four different areas of the site were treated. Results showed substantial reduction of leachable lead and copper between the untreated waste and treated waste utilizing the EPA Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedure (TCLP) test. The effectiveness of this process for immobilizing PCBs could not be determined since the raw waste did not leach PCBs at high concentrations, utilizing the TCLP test. Data from other leaching tests for lead and copper would need to be utilized as input into a site specific groundwater model to determine whether solidification/stabilization would be an acceptable remedy for the site. Physical testing results indicated durability in exposed conditions.     

Environmental Impact of Residential Wood Combustion Emissions and its Implications

Currently available information suggests a substantial environmental impact from residential wood combustion emissions. Air pollution from this source is widespread and increasing. Current ambient measurements, surveys, and model predictions indicate winter respirable (<2 μm) emissions from residential wood combustion can easily exceed all other sources. Both the chemical potency and deliverability of the emissions from this source are of concern. The emissions are almost entirely in the inhalable size range and contain toxic and priority pollutants, carcinogens, co-carcinogens, cilia toxic, mucus coagulating agents, and other respiratory irritants such as phenols, aldehydes, etc. This source is contributing substantially to the nonattainment of current particulate, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbon ambient air quality standards and will almost certainly have a significant impact on potential future standards such as inhalable particulates, visibility, and other chemically specific standards. Emission from this growing source is likely to require additional expenditures by industry for air pollution control equipment in nonattainment areas.