An Overview of EPA’s Quality Assurance Program

Quality Assurance has been defined in many different ways to express concern for the “quality” of the output of some operation or function. For the purpose of this presentation, quality assurance is defined as the sum of those activities within an environmental monitoring or measurement program which are primarily for the purpose of documenting the precision, accuracy, representativeness, and completeness of the data that are produced. Further, we view quality assurance as a management tool which encompasses both administrative and technical functions which generally fall into three categories: (1) Prevention which includes those activities carried out prior to the proper placement and operation of the measurement system; (2) Evaluation which includes the continuous overview and checks on the performance of the systems and operators; and (3) Correction which includes changes made to improve or stabilize the capability and performance of the system.     

R&D Activities,Operating Experience Discussed at Fabric Alternatives Forum

ABSTRACT

Previously reported volatile organic compounds (VOC) radiocarbon (¹⁴C) measurements for 1992 summertime Atlanta, GA, have been compared with chromatographic data and emissions inventory predictions. The chromatographic approach that was used provided a more comprehensive VOC characterization than typically achieved, and the emissions inventory was research-grade level (date-, site-, and time-specific). The comparisons are in general agreement that biogenic emissions contribute only modestly (<10%) to the VOC content of the particular ambient samples that were collected and measured. The choices of sampling site (near city-center) and times (early morning and late evening) are major influences on the results, which consequently should not be regarded as representing the average VOC biogenic impact for the Atlanta area.     

Comparison of Predicted and Measured Concentrations for 58 Alternative models of Plume Transport in Complex Terrain

The purpose of this study was to evaluate alternative prediction models for the SO₂ concentrations produced in the vicinity of the Ohio Edison Company Sammis Power Plant. The plant is situated in the northeastern portion of the Ohio River Valley in complex terrain. Comparisons of the 16 highest predicted and measured short-term SO₂ concentrations were conducted for a one year period for 58 alternative models. Several models were found to predict reasonably accurately the 16 highest measured 24-hour SO₂ concentrations. Each of these models requires an upward adjustment in the plume centerline location as the plume is transported downwind in rising terrain. These same models overpredict by substantial margins the 16 highest measured 3-hour SO₂ concentrations. Improvements in emissions inventory data and improvements in the prediction models used are believed necessary to increase prediction accuracy further.     

The Effect of Building Fan Operation on Indoor-Outdoor Dust Relationships

As part of an energy conservation program recently implemented by the Bell System, fans in many telephone equipment buildings now operate only when necessary to bring the temperature within allowable limits, rather than continuously. In the study reported here the effects of fan operation on indoor-outdoor dust relationships were monitored at 2 representative telephone offices. Automatic dichotomous samplers were used to collect fine and coarse aerosol particles inside telephone equipment buildings at Wichita, KS and Lubbock, TX. At both sites, outdoor samples (roof top) were collected at the same time as the indoor samples. During the tests the building fans were repetitively cycled between 2-week intervals of continuous fan operation and 2-week intervals of intermittent fan operation. The indoor dust concentrations typically increased when the fans were off. The results indicate that this increase was due to loss of constant filtration, but not due to loss of building pressurlzation (i.e., filtration of the recirculated air is largely responsible for the lower dust levels when the fans are running continuously). An expression is derived for the relative dust increase when the building fans are switched off. Among other factors, the relative increase is directly proportional to the efficiency of the building filters and to the rate at which air is recirculated through them. The present findings can be extended to similar buildings.     

Development of Federal Air Standards to Reduce Sulfur Dioxide Emissions from New Industrial Boilers

Federal new source performance standards to control air emissions of sulfur dioxide from new industrial boilers were proposed by EPA on June 19, 1986. These standards would require boiler owners to reduce SO₂ emissions by 90 percent and meet an emission limit of 1.2 lb/MM Btu of heat input for coal-fired boilers and 0.8 lb/MM Btu for oil-fired boilers. In developing these standards, several regulatory options were considered, from standards that could be met by firing low sulfur fuels to standards that would necessitate flue gas treatment. The environmental, economic, and cost impacts of each option were analyzed. National impacts were estimated by a computer model that projects the population of new boilers over the 5-year period following proposal, predicts the compliance strategy that will be used to comply with the particular option (always assuming that the lowest cost method of compliance will be selected), and estimates the resulting emission reductions and costs. Impacts on specific industries and on model boilers were also analyzed. This paper focuses on these analyses and their results. The Agency's conclusions from these analyses, which led to the decision to establish percent reduction standards, are provided, and the proposed SO₂ standards are summarized. The proposed standards also include an emission limit for particulate matter from oil-fired boilers (0.1 lb/MM Btu). However, this article focuses only on the SO₂ standards.     

Indoor Ozone Exposures

Indoor and outdoor ozone concentrations were measured from late May through October at three office buildings with very different ventilation rates. The indoor values closely tracked the outdoor values, and, depending on the ventilation rate, were 20 to 80 percent of those outdoors. The Indoor/outdoor data are adequately described with a mass balance model. The model can also be coupled with reported air exchange rates to estimate indoor/outdoor ratios for other structures. The results from this and previous studies indicate that Indoor concentrations are frequently a significant fraction of outdoor values. These observations, and the fact that most people spend greater than 90 percent of their time indoors, indicate that indoor ozone exposure (concentration × time) is greater than outdoor exposure for many people. Relatively Inexpensive strategies exist to reduce indoor ozone levels, and these could be implemented to reduce the public’s total ozone exposure.     

An Evaluation of the Effects of Ozone Injury on Radial Growth of Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) in the Southern Sierra Nevada

Growth of ponderosa pines with visible symptoms of ozone injury was compared with that of asymptomatic trees in the southern Sierra Nevada, California. Time series analysis indicated that there was no significant reduction in annual radial increment of symptomatic trees during recent years compared to past growth and growth of asymptomatic trees. First order autocorrelation and climatic variables accounted for a large proportion of the variance in growth index, and winter precipitation was positively correlated with growth for all size and age classes. Although ozone concentrations are high enough to cause chlorosis and premature needle senescence in ponderosa pine, there has been no significant change in growth associated with ozone injury.     

Comparative Study of Spray Booth Filter System Efficiency

ABSTRACT

During recent years, greater emphasis has been placed on the control of particulate emissions from painting operations. This has gained more importance as more is learned about the potential release of toxic metals to the atmosphere from painting operations. This has led to queries about the efficiency of various painting arrestor systems to reduce particulate discharges to the atmosphere. Even more important is the capability of the arrestor systems to control PM₁₀ emissions.

In 1995, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated a study to evaluate various dry paint overspray arrestor systems. This study was designed to evaluate not only the total emissions control capability of the arrestor but also the PM₁₀ control capability of the various system designs. Paint overspray arrestor systems using five different filtration concepts or materials were selected. They include systems constructed of fiberglass, paper, Styrofoam, and cardboard materials. These systems used filtration techniques incorporating the following filtration phenomena and designs: cyclone, baffle, bag systems, and mesh systems.

The testing used an optical particle counting procedure to determine the concentration of particles of a given size fraction to penetrate a test arrestor system. The results of the testing indicated that there are significant differences in the efficiency of the tested system designs to capture and retain PM₁₀.

This paper summarizes the results of the research conducted to determine the capability of the arrestor systems to capture particulate of sizes down to approximately 1 μm in surface diameter.     

Low Concentration Mercury Sorption Mechanisms and Control by Calcium-Based Sorbents: Application in Coal-Fired Processes

ABSTRACT

The capture of elemental mercury (Hg⁰) and mercuric chloride (HgCl₂) by three types of calcium (Ca)-based sor-bents was examined in this bench-scale study under conditions prevalent in coal-fired utilities. Ca-based sorbent performances were compared with that of an activated carbon. Hg⁰ capture of about 40% (nearly half that of the activated carbon) was achieved by two of the Ca-based sorbents. The presence of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) in the simulated coal combustion flue gas enhanced the Hg⁰ capture from about 10 to 40%. Increasing the temperature in the range of 65-100 °C also caused an increase in the Hg⁰ capture by the two Ca-based sorbents. Mercuric chloride (HgCl₂) capture exhibited a totally different pattern. The presence of SO₂ inhibited the HgCl₂ capture by Ca-based sorbents from about 25 to less than 10%. Increasing the temperature in the studied range also caused a decrease in HgCl₂ capture. Upon further pilot-scale confirmations, the results obtained in this bench-scale study can be used to design and manufacture more cost-effective mercury sorbents to replace conventional sorbents already in use in mercury control.     

Source Apportionment of Phoenix PM2.5 Aerosol with the Unmix Receptor Model

Abstract

The multivariate receptor model Unmix has been used to analyze a 3-yr PM_2.5 ambient aerosol data set collected in Phoenix, AZ, beginning in 1995. The analysis generated source profiles and overall average percentage source contribution estimates (SCEs) for five source categories: gasoline engines (33 ± 4%), diesel engines (16 ± 2%), secondary SO₄ ^2? (19 ± 2%), crustal/soil (22 ± 2%), and vegetative burning (10 ± 2%). The Unmix analysis was supplemented with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of a limited number of filter samples for information on possible additional low-strength sources. Except for the diesel engine source category, the Unmix SCEs were generally consistent with an earlier multivariate receptor analysis of essentially the same data using the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model. This article provides the first demonstration for an urban area of the capability of the Unmix receptor model.