United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Environmental Sciences Research
Laboratory
Research Triangle Park NC 27711
Research and Development
EPA-600/S3-84-010 Feb. 1984
4>EPA Project Summary
Data Base for Plumes with
Significant Plume and
Background Particle Scattering
Christian Seigneur, Clark D. Johnson, Jerry A. Anderson, J. Alexander
McDonald, and L. Willard Richards
Visibility Impairment due to Sulfur
Transport and Transformation in the
Atmosphere is a project sponsored by
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. During the winter and summer
of 1981, plume measurement programs
were conducted in the vicinity of the
Kincaid power plant near Springfield,
IL; the Labadie power plant near St.
Louis, MO; the La Cygne power plant
near Kansas City, MO; the Magma
copper smelter near San Manuel, AZ;
and the Phelps-Dodge copper smelter
near Douglas, AZ.
Airborne measurements of aerosol
size distribution, chemistry, optical
properties, and trace gas concentrations
in the plume and in background air were
recorded at the above locations. Exten-
sive plume teleradiometer measure-
ments, airborne measurements along
teleradiometer sight paths (including
plume width, pollutant concentrations,
and particle light scattering [bsp]), and
measurements of sun-observer-plume
geometry were also made.
This report describes the types of
information included in a data base
collected during the 1981 VISTTA field
programs. Specific data were tabulated
for sight paths through each of the
following plumes: the Kincaid power
plant plume on February 20, 24, and
25, 1981; the Labadie power plant
plume on August 24 and 29,1981; and
the Magma smelter plume on Septem-
ber 8, 1981. This data base, presented
in the project report, can be used to
evaluate plume visibility models.
This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's Environmental Sciences
Research Laboratory, Research Triangle
Park, NC, to announce key findings of
the research project that is fully docu-
mented in a separate report of the same
title (see Project Report ordering infor-
mation at back).
Introduction
In 1977, the U.S. Congress amended
the Clean Air Act to set as a national goal
the "prevention of any future, and the
remedying of any existing, impairment of
visibility in mandatory class I Federal
areas which impairment results from man
made air pollution": (Section 169A). It is
necessary to understand the effects on
visibility of current and proposed emis-
sions in order to accomplish this goal. The
USEPA initiated the VISTTA (Visibility
Impairment due to Sulfur Transport and
Transformation in the Atmosphere) pro-
ject to develop the technical information
required to understand the contribution
of coal-fired power plants to visibility
impairment in western pristine areas.
The VISTTA project is a multi-year co-
operative effort involving several govern-
ment agencies, private companies, and
universities. Overall coordination of the
program is the responsibility of Meteor-
ology Research, Inc.
The general goals of the VISTTA project
are as follows
1 determmethe relationship between
emissions of coal-fired power plants
and smelters and their downwind
optical effects;
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2. document the current natural and
anthropogenic contributors to visi-
bility impairment and the relative
contributions of these various
sources; and
3. provide data for evaluation of plume
visibility models
The data base from 1979 VISTTA field
programs was presented by Blumenthal
et al (1983).1 This report presents the
data base that was collected during the
February and August-September 1981
VISTTA field programs These programs
were conducted in the vicinity of the
Kincaid power plant near Springfield, IL;
the Labadie power plant near St. Louis,
MO; the La Cygne power plant near
Kansas City, MO; the Magma copper
smelter near San Manuel, AZ; and the
Phelps-Dodge copper smelter near
Douglas, AZ. VISTTA data are available
from Sonoma Technology, Inc., Santa
Rosa, CA 95401.
Results
The data base in the report consists of
nine case studies. Three case studies
were conducted February 20, 24, and 25,
1981, on the plume of the Kincaid power
plant near Springfield, IL; two case studies
were conducted on August 24 and 29,
1981 on the plume of the Labadie power
plant near St. Louis, MO; and four case
studies were conducted on September 8,
1 981 on the plume of the Magma copper
smelter near San Manuel, AZ. Only air-
borne measurements were made at the
La Cygne power plant.
The five case studies (February 20, 24,
and 25 and August 24 and 29, 1 981) that
included emission data can be used for
overall evaluation of plume visibility
models. The six case studies (February
24, August 24 and the four cases of
September 8, 1981) that included data
measured by the instrumental aircraft
along the teleradiometer sight path can
be used for evaluation of optics, disper-
sion, and chemistry modules
The data base consists of information
from the following categories'
1 major characteristics (location,
number of stacks, and stack height)
of the power plants and smelters,
2 location of theteleradiometers, and
3 emission characteristics, rate and
flue gas characteristics of the power
plants.
4 Physical characteristics (mass
median radius and standard devia-
tion of the lognormal distributions,
density, and index of refraction) of
the plume and background aerosol.
5. Ambient temperature profiles for
the five power plant case studies.
6 Meteorological data (effective wind
direction, wind speed, temperature,
and relative humidity) at plume
height
7. Optics data (site and time of the
teleradiometer measurements, geo-
metric data, and background visual
range).
8. Teleradiometer data (plume/sky
radiance ratioand plume radiance).
9. Plume measurements obtained
with the aircraft.
Aircraft measurements include the
following: location of measurements,
plume width and altitude, maximum trace
gas concentrations, broad-based and UV
radiation data, plume burdens (plume
trace gas concentration and particle-
scattering coefficients integrated along
the crosswind direction) and trace gas
background concentrations. Because of
uncertainties in the aircraft measure-
ments, data were collected during several
flight paths that correspond to a given set
of teleradiometer measurements.
The report contains comments on each
case study to give additional information
on the accuracy of the measurements.
Conclusions and
Recommendations
The 1 979 VISTTA data base has focused
on plumes with low particle concentra-
tions in clean background air. The 1981
VISTTA field programs were conducted to
extend the data base to conditions where
particle scattering in the plume and back-
ground is important. This report presents
the 1981 VISTTAdatabasethat should be
used to evaluate plume visibility models
for cases where plumes contain high
concentrations of particles or are emitted
into a polluted atmosphere with high
particle concentrations of interest for
plume visibility model evaluation
References
1. Blumenthal, D.L., Richards, L.W.,
Macias, E.S., Bergstrom, R W.,
Bhardwaja, P.S., Eigsti, S.L., Wil-
son, W.E., Seigneur, C , Hudischew-
skyj, A B , and Babson, B.L. The
Chemistry, Physics, and Optical
Properties of Plumes and Back-
ground Air in the Southwest Unitet
States NTIS PB 83-261 768
Springfield, VA, 1983, 67 pp.
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Christian Seigneur and Clark D. Johnson are with Systems Applications, Inc.,
San Rafael, CA 94903; Jerry A. Anderson, J. Alexander McDonald, and L.
Willard Richards are with Sonoma Technology, Inc., Santa Rosa, CA 95401
William E. Wilson, Jr., and William D. Conner are the EPA Project Officers (see
below).
The complete report, entitled "Data Base for Plumes with Significant Plume and
Background Particle Scattering," (Order No. PB 84-141 159; Cost: $8.50,
subject to change) will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield. VA 22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officers can be contacted at:
Environmental Sciences Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park. NC 27711
irUS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1984-759-015/7301
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