United States
                   Environmental Protection
                   Agency
Atmospheric Research and        \
Exposure Assessment Laboratory  ^
Research Triangle Park NC 27711 ^ Xi.-
                   Research and Development
 EPA/600/S3-88/047  Feb. 1989
&EPA         Project  Summary
                   Guideline for  Design,
                   Installation,  Operation,  and
                   Quality  Assurance for  Dry
                   Deposition Monitoring  Networks
                   Linda F. Porter
                    This  manual  provides  basic,
                   practical, field-tested guidance on
                   the  installation, operation, mainte-
                   nance, calibration, and  auditing of
                   dry  deposition  measurement  sys-
                   tems. The  information provided is
                   based primarily on EPA's experience
                   in installing, operating,  maintaining,
                   and  auditing the  National  Dry
                   Deposition Network. It  has been
                   supplemented  with information
                   gathered from personnel involved in
                   other acid deposition  and some
                   non-acid deposition  monitoring
                   networks, and by a review of present
                   research and development efforts.
                   The information presented is current
                   and correct as of August 1988. The
                   manual is a succinct presentation of
                   the  essential information  needed
                   from the time monitoring is planned
                   until the monitoring project and the
                   data assessment are completed. It is
                   intended for both experienced and
                   inexperienced monitoring personnel.
                   Each section of the manual  first
                   describes the activities  covered by
                   the  topic area, then it describes the
                   quality control activities that apply,
                   and finally discusses the quality
                   assurance activities that can be done
                   to  ensure the  quality control
                   activities are being done.
                    Tft/s Project Summary was devel-
                   oped by EPA's Atmospheric Research
                   and Exposure Assessment 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 information at back).

  In response to public concern over the
 possible  adverse effects of acidic
 deposition on natural environments,
 materials, wildlife, and public health,
 Congress  passed the Acid Precipitation
 Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-294 Title VII). This
 act resulted in an explosion of monitoring
 activity  in the area of acid deposition.
 Numerous research projects, sampling
 networks,  and studies,  for example, the
 National Dry Deposition Network (NDDN),
 the Mountain Cloud Chemistry Program
 (MGCP), the Forest Response Program
 (FRP), the Operation Evaluation Network
 (OEN), the  Acid Model  Operational
 Diagnostic Evaluation Study (ACID
 MODES),  and the National Atmospheric
 Deposition Program/National  Trends
 Network (NADP/NTN),  were initiated to
 monitor and study  acid deposition.
 Because it was a new  area of research,
 many of the organizations carrying out
 these projects had little experience in
 measuring acid gases,  acid particulates,
 and meteorological parameters under the
 conditions encountered when measuring
 acid deposition. Not surprisingly, most of
 these projects are measuring many of the
 same parameters.
  This manual provides basic,  practical,
 field-tested guidance on the installation,
 operation, maintenance, calibration,  and
 auditing of dry deposition measurement
 systems.  The information provided is
 based primarily on EPA's experience in

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installing,  operating, maintaining,  and
auditing the  National  Dry Deposition
Network. It has been supplemented with
information gathered  from  personnel
involved in other acid  deposition  and
some non-acid  deposition monitoring
networks, and by a review of present
research and  development efforts.  The
information presented  is  current  and
correct as of August  1988.  However,
because dry  deposition monitoring  is a
relatively  new area of research, the
methodology is  continually being
modified and  improved in  the areas  of
data assessment, quality assurance and
measurement.  Thus,  this guidance
document  is expected to be updated  in
approximately  three  years as  our
knowledge of acid  deposition  improves.
In the interim,  it  is  hoped that the
widespread use of  the  guidance in this
manual will improve the comparability  of
measurements across all acid deposition
monitoring projects. Users  are encour-
aged  to  submit  their   comments
concerning additions,  deletions,  and
other modifications that will improve the
usefulness of this  manual. This  infor-
mation can be sent to the author.
  The manual is  a  succinct presentation
of the essential information needed from
the time monitoring is planned until the
monitoring   project  and  the  data
assessment are completed. It is intended
for both experienced and inexperienced
monitoring personnel and is divided into
sections and  appendices  covering the
following topics:

1. Monitoring  Project  Design   and
   Implementation
2. Site Selection
3. Procurement and Testing of Materials
   and Equipment
4. Site Installation
5. Site Operations
6. Training
7. Laboratory Operations
8. Data Management

   Each section  of  the  manual  is
organized  as  follows. First, the activities
that are covered by the topic area are
described. Then, the types  of quality
control procedures  that apply to  these
activities are  described in  detail. Finally,
quality assurance procedures that can  be
used to assure that these quality control
activities are  being  done are  presented.
Samples of practical,  field-tested
auditing  procedures are  described  in
detail in the  appendices  for illustrative
purposes.
   Although the document addresses dry
deposition monitoring,  the techniques
and information presented should  also
prove  helpful  to  those  planning to
establish other  monitoring networks  in
such areas as  global climate change,
stratospheric  ozone,  and greenhouse
effect assessment.
  The manual contains 98 pages of text
and 17  Appendices. The  titles of these
appendices are:
Appendix
Title
  A     Siting Criteria for Dry Deposition
        Trends Monitoring Networks
  B     Siting  Criteria for  Regionally
        Located  Wet Deposition Col-
        lection Sites
  C     Siting  Criteria for Urban-Influ-
        enced Wet Deposition Collection
        Sites
  D     NDDN Site Suitability Evaluation
        Form
  E     NDDN Site Acceptance Check-
        list
  F     NDDN Field  Performance Audit
        Observables
  G     NDDN  Field Systems  Audit
        Report Form
  H     NDDN Systems  Audit Quest-
        ionnaire  ESE   Chemistry
        Laboratory
  I      Mountain Cloud  Chemistry
        Project  (MCCP)  Systems Audit
        Questionnaire
  J     NADP/NTN Systems  and Per-
        formance Survey Questionnaire
  K     Standard  Operating  Procedure
        for  Performance  Auditing
        Meteorological Instruments  at
        Dry Deposition Monitoring Sites
  L     Standard  Operating  Procedure
        for Performance Auditing Ozone
        Analyzers at Dry  Deposition
        Monitoring Sites
  M    Standard  Operating  Procedure
        for  Performance  Auditing SOa
        Analyzers at Mountain  Cloud
        Chemistry Sites
  N     Analysis of Dry Deposition Filter
        Extracts by Ion Chromatography
  0    EPA Method  350.7 for the
        Measurement of  Ammonium  in
        Wet Deposition  Samples  by
        Autoanalyzer
  P     Acronyms and Abbreviations
  Q    Glossary

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The EPA author, Linda F. Porter (see below), is with the Atmospheric Research
  and Exposure Assessment Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711.
The complete report, entitled "Guideline for Design,  Installaiton, Operation,  and
  Quality Assurance for Dry Deposition Monitoring Networks," (Order No. PB
  89-127 492/AS; Cost: $36.95, 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 author can be contacted at:
    Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
    Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
EPA/600/S3-88/047
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