United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory -«**& -*^.
Research Triangle Park NC 27711 "Wii?" . s
Research and Development
EPA-600/S2.84-103 July 1984
Project Summary
The Use of Portable
Instrumentation for the
Monitoring of Fugitive Organic
Emissions from Hazardous
Waste Incinerators
Clifford H. Summers, Anne C. Roche, and Kathleen E. Thrun
The thrust of this task was to evaluate
and test currently available portable
instrumentation used to monitor
fugitive organic emissions generated by
the transfer and storage of liquid wastes
during the operation of hazardous
waste incinerators. One subtask
involved evaluating relevant current
methodology. The other involved
testing results and recommendations of
the evaluation.
The evaluation of current
methodology for portable volatile
organic compound (VOC) monitors,
with regard to their applicability in
monitoring fugitive organic emissions
from hazardous waste incinerators, has
been completed, and is documented as
Appendix A of the full report. The
recommendation was to perform a
limited field test with two photoioniza-
tion analyzers (PIDs) at an operating
liquid waste incinerator. A portable
flame ionization detector (FID) (for
which considerable prior data exists)
was to be used as reference. The second
portion of this task, constituting the
bulk of this report, consists of results
of field tests at the Cincinnati Municipal
Sewer District's incinerator. The data
indicate that, for this application, either
a PID containing a 10.2 eV light source
or a FID is suitable.
This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's Industrial Environmental Re-
search Laboratory. Research Triangle
Park, NC, to announce key findings of
the research project that is fully
documented in a separate report of the
same title (see Project Report ordering
information at back).
Introduction
Fugitive organic emissions from trucks
off-loading wastes, pump packing glands,
valve stems, flanges, tank vents, etc. are
of concern at liquid waste incinerators
because they can be hazardous to the
continued good health of those nearby, as
well as of others (to a lesser degree)
farther away. The extent of these
emissions is neither known nor routinely
monitored. Federal Register Method 21,
Determination of Volatile Organic
Compound Leaks, addresses fugitives
from organic process equipment but is
not really suitable for use on hazardous
waste incinerators. The wastes delivered
to, and combusted by, a liquid waste in-
cinerator vary widely in composition,
making any attempt at quantification of
fugitive emissions in real time difficult, if
not impossible.
A compromise is to utilize an
instrument that will respond well to most
(or all) organic vapor in real time, with
little operator skill needed, and be
sufficiently portable so as not to be an
encumbrance when carried up or down
ladders, or along narrow walkways. The
PIO was considered as a potential
candidate to meet these requirements.
-------
Conclusions and
Recommendations
The response observed using the 10.2
eV PID was far greater than the response
observed using the 11.7 eV PID. The
variety of response observed also
indicates the wide variety of wastes deliv-
ered for incineration.
The 11.7 eV lamp is reported to have
low PI sensitivity for many of the
compounds for which the 10.2 eV lamp
has considerable utility. The calibration
standard used is among these, as
evidenced by the low maximum setting of
20 for the 900 ppm concentration mixture
of 1,3-butadiene in air. The wastes
delivered to the incinerator during the
test period were evidently not of any type
for which the 11.7 eV lamp has even
moderate sensitivity.
The 10.2 eV PID is recommended over
the 11.7 eV PID for walkthrough surveys
in liquid waste incinerators of this type.
The FID (such as the OVA-128 used as
the reference instrument in this study) is
also quite suitable. Note, however, that
the wide variety of both waste type and
composition made quantification of the
response data virtually impossible, and
that no one portable survey instrument
should be considered as "best" for this
application.
Clifford H. Summers, Anne C. Roche, and Kathleen E. Thrun are with Arthur D.
Little. Inc., Cambridge, MA 02140.
Merrill D. Jackson is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
The complete report, entitled "The Use of Portable Instrumentation for the
Monitoring of Fugitive Organic Emissions from Hazardous Waste Incinerators,"
(Order No. PB 84-206 523; Cost: $10.00, 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 Officer can be contacted at:
Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
it U S GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 1984 — 759-01 5/7748
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
1L 60604
------- |