United States
               Environmental Protection
               Agency
               Environmental Research
               Laboratory
               Corvallis OR 97330
EPA-600 3-79-100
September 1979
               Research and Development
&EPA
A Study of Winter
Air Pollutants at
Fairbanks,  Alaska

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                RESEARCH REPORTING SERIES

Research reports of the Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency,  have been grouped into nine series. These nine broad cate-
gories were established to facilitate further development and application of en-
vironmental technology. Elimination of traditional grouping was consciously
planned to foster technology transfer and a maximum interface in related fields.
The nine series are:

      1.   Environmental Health Effects Research
      2.   Environmental Protection Technology
      3.   Ecological Research
      4.   Environmental Monitoring
      5.   Socioeconomic Environmental Studies
      6.   Scientific and technical Assessment Reports (STAR)
      7.   Interagency Energy-Environment Research and Development
      8.   "Special" Reports
      9.   Miscellaneous  Reports

This report has been assigned to the ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH series. This series
describes research on the effects of pollution on humans, plant and animal spe-
cies, and materials. Problems are assessed for their long- and short-term influ-
ences. Investigations include formation, transport, and pathway studies to deter-
mine the fate of pollutants and their effects. This work provides the technical basis
for setting standards to minimize undesirable changes in living organisms in the
aquatic,  terrestrial, and atmospheric environments.
This document is available to the public through the National Technical Informa-
tion Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161.

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                                            EPA-600/3-79-100
                                            September 1979
     A STUDY OF WINTER AIR POLLUTANTS

                    at

             FAIRBANKS, ALASKA
             Harold J.  Coutts
   Arctic Environmental Research Station
Con/all is Environmental Research Laboratory
          College, Alaska  99701
CORVALLIS ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LABORATORY
    OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
   U.  S.  ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
         CORVALLIS, OREGON  97330

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                                  DISCLAIMER

     This  report has  been reviewed  by  the Corvallis  Environmental  Research
Laboratory, U.S.  Environmental Protection  Agency,  and  approved  for publica-
tion.  Approval  does  not  signify that  the contents necessarily  reflect the
views  and policies  of the  U.  S.  Environmental  Protection Agency,  nor does
mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recom-
mendation for use.                          '
                                     ti

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                                   FOREWORD

     Effective regulatory and enforcement actions by the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency  would be  virtually  impossible without  sound scientific  data on
pollutants  and  their  impact  on  environmental  stability  and human  health.
Responsibility for building  this  data base has been  assigned  to  EPA's Office
of Research and Development and its major field installations,  one of which is
the Corvallis Environmental Research Laboratory (CERL).

     The  primary  mission of the  Corvallis Laboratory is research  on  the ef-
fects  of  environmental  pollutants  on  terrestrial,  freshwater,  and  marine
ecosystems; the  behavior,  effects  and control of pollutants in  lake systems;
and the  development  of predictive models on the movement of pollutants in the
biosphere.  CERL's Arctic  Environmental  Research  Station conducts research on
the effects  of pollutants on  Arctic and  sub-Arctic  freshwater,  marine water
and  terrestrial   systems;  and  develops  and  demonstrates  pollution  control
technology for cold-climate regions.

     This  report  presents  findings from several winter  investigations  of air
pollutants in and near  Fairbanks, Alaska.


                                       Thomas A.  Murphy
                                       Director,  CERL
                                    lii

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                                   ABSTRACT

     It has been well documented for the past ten years that Fairbanks, Alaska
has an air  pollution problem with carbon monoxide  (CO),  particulates and ice
fog, but there are other pollutants that have  not been routinely monitored.

     In  addition, the  theory has been raised that the low temperature and low
insolation  at this  latitude  may enhance conversion  of  precursory pollutants
into their more toxic forms, e.g., nitric oxide into nitrogen dixide.

     Consequently  an  air  pollution monitoring  program  was initiated  by the
Arctic  Environmental  Research  Station  (AERS).   Ambient monitoring  was  done
throughout  the winters of 76-77 and 77-78 at the old downtown Fairbanks Post
Office and  also on the AERS  roof  during the winter of 76-77.  Indoor-outdoor
monitoring  was done at the new  State  Building during January 1979.  Lead data
obtained by the Fairbanks North Star Borough is also presented.

     Pollutants  measured  during  the  first  winter were  nitric  oxide  (NO),
nitrogen dioxide  (N02),  sulfur  dioxide (S02),   total  suspended particulates
(TSP), sulfate (SOf),  nitrate (N0§), and lead (Pb).  During the second winter,
only the gaseous forms were  measured.   At the State  Building NO, N02, and CO
were measured.

     High  values,  compared  to  those  measured in the  contiguous states,  were
found  for  NO and Pb.  Most S02  levels were  below the analyzer sensitivity of
0.004  ppm.   The  health effects of the  measured levels of NO are not known, but
Pb  levels  exceeded  EPA  standards.   More monitoring for Pb  is  needed and,  if
the  high concentrations  are  found to  be area wide, then local authorities may
want  to consider  restrictions  on  use  of  leaded gasoline during  the winter
months.

     The garage under the new State Building with  attendant air infiltration
appeared to be  responsible  for higher  indoor than  outdoor CO levels.  There
was no evidence  found  that the natural environment hastened the transformation
of NO and S02 to their more toxic forms.
                                      IV

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                                   CONTENTS

Foreword	iii
Abstract	'	iV
List of Figures and Tables	vi
Acknowledgments  	 vii

     1.   Introduction 	   1
     2.   Summary and Recommendations  	   6
     3.   Systems and Procedures 	   9
               Sites and Setups	   9
               Urban Site	   9
               Rural Site	12
               Indoor-outdoor Site	13
               Other Sites	  13
               Gases	  15
               Particulates  	  17
               Measurement Accuracy  	  18
     4.   Pollutant Sources and Dispersion 	  24
               Sources	24
               Dispersion	27
     5.   Ambient Levels	29
               Data Listing	29
               Gases	29
               Particulates  	  37
               Reactions	40
     6.   Indoor-outdoor Levels  	  45
     7.   Fairbanks Air Quality and the National
          Air Quality Standards  	  51
               Winter Air	51
               Air Quality Standards 	  51
               Carbon Monoxide, Ice Fog,  and Particulates  	  52
               Sulfur Dioxide  	  53
               Nitrogen Oxides 	  54
               Mobile Source Emission Control Effects  	  55
               Lead	56
               Oxidants	56
               Hydrocarbons  	  57
               Photochemical Smog	58
               Section Summary 	  58

References	60

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                          LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES


                                    TABLES
Number
  1.  Chronological Estimate of Maximum Probable Errors 	  23

  2.  Urban Site Air Quality Data, February 1977	30

  3.  Rural Site Air Quality Data, February 1977	31

  4.  First Winter Fairbanks Area Monthly
      Average Values of Air Pollutants  	32

  5.  Second Winter Fairbanks Urban Site Monthly
      Average Values of Air Pollutants  	  33

  6.  Fairbanks Area Lead Data	39
                                    FIGURES

  1.  Fairbanks Area Monitoring Sites  	 10

  2.  Chart Record of Air Quality Data for
      •the Rural Site, February 9, 1977	42

  3.  Carbon Monoxide Content of Air at New
      State Building, Fairbanks, Alaska 	 46

  4.  Nitric Oxide Content of Air at New
      State Building, Fairbanks, Alaska 	 48

  5.  Nitrogen Dioxide Control of Air at New
      State Building, Fairbanks, Alaska 	 49
                                     vt

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                                ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

     This study could  not  have been accomplished without  the  assistance from
the following individuals and organizations.

     Louis Lindsey and George Delamater of the General  Services Administration
arranged  for  use  of the Federal  Building (old post office) and  for electric
power for the monitoring instruments.

     Dr.  William  Zoller,  University  of  Maryland  provided assistance  with
nitric oxide calibration,  loaned a nitric oxide calibrator, and performed some
of the lead analyses.

     Jerry Fisher,  Richard Joy and Barry Corel 1  of the Fairbanks  North Star
Borough assisted with instrument maintenance, data analyses, loaned monitoring
and test  instruments,  and provided the  Fairbanks  carbon  monoxide  data,  the
North Pole data, and the lead data  at sites other than the Federal Building.

     Norman Sefer  of North Pole  Refining permitted our use of their  NO ,  03
calibrator.

     Robert Jackson  checked and calibrated the monitoring instruments.

     Frank Butler  and  the Environmental  Monitoring and  Support  Laboratory,
U.S. Environmental  Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park supplied the High
Volume filters and conducted nitrate, sulfate and lead analyses.

     Kendal  Adams and  the  Alaska  Department of Buildings  and the  staff of the
Alaska Department of  Environmental  Conservation provided  access to and assis-
tance in setting up monitors at the new Alaska State Building.
                                     vii

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                         SECTION 1






                        INTRODUCTION






A major objective of this investigative program was to



measure the various air pollutants and their interactions



and to compare results with the present primary air quality




standards.






As the urban population in Alaska has increased, there has



been much concern over air pollution in what would seem to



be a relatively pristine area.  Air pollution becomes a



serious problem when people attempt to live in urban regions



in this climate.  The most visible urban air pollution



problem in this northern region is ice fog which occurs




during the colder, dark winter months.  Ice fog is composed



of minute ice crystals that are produced when water vapor



is released into ambient air that is too cold to .hold it in



solution.  Interference by ice fog has reduced visibility



which increased automobile accidents and limited commerce




by closing airports.






The presence of other pollutants i,n ice fog has been acknow-



ledged for over ten years (1).  One researcher has reported



that ice fog, and associated atmospheric thermal inversions,





                             1

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increase the ambient levels of lead compounds and toxic



gases including nitrogen and sulfur oxides, aldehydes, and



halides (2).  Several other investigators  (3), (4), and (5)



have measured levels of these pollutants in the Fairbanks



area.  The highest levels of carbon monoxide, a major pol-



lutant in Fairbanks, Alaska, were not necessarily present



during ice fog.  Carbon monoxide, since it is emitted at



ground level, is more easily trapped in surface based ther-



mal  inversions.  Carbon monoxide is a known health hazard;



the  others are a potential  health hazard.  When considering



nitrogen and sulfur  oxides  their emitted (primary) forms are



nitric oxide (NO) and sulfur dioxide (SO,,).  Low temperature



atmospheric interaction of  these primary pollutants might



increase their toxicity.  For example:





Over 90 percent of the nitrogen  oxide (NO  ) emission  is NO.
                                         X


In  the atmosphere it slowly oxidizes at 25°C to nitrogen



dioxide (NO-).  Under normal, warm conditions (>0°C)  NO may



be  dispersed before  it can  be significantly converted to



N0?.   The NO oxidation rate with oxygen increases as  tem-



perature decreases (6).   It is therefore expected that a



much larger fraction of the urban NO  exists as NO- during
                                    J\             ^


low  ambient temperatures.   There also is a differential



health effect.  Of the two  nitrogen oxides, N0» is reported



as  the more toxic (7).  The possibility of higher levels of



the  more toxic form  at low  temperatures warrants investiga-



tion.  That investigation is part of this  report.



                              2

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SO- air quality criteria are based upon warm temperature




(lower 49 state) health effects data.  SO- is the major



precursor of sulfate (SOT).  The ambient air SO- to SOT




ratio is affected by temperature.  Of these two forms, SOT



is considered to be the more toxic (8).  The present SO- air




quality standard may not be applicable to cold climates



where the SO- to SOT ratio could be much different.  It was



planned to evaluate that ratio in this study-






In high latitude regions such as Alaska the ambient ozone




(0-,) levels are expected at times to be naturally high due



to stratospheric downwelling.  The stratosphere contains



high concentrations of 0.,.  0, level readings at Fairbanks,




Alaska in 1950 showed several months during the spring when



all daily values exceeded the EPA oxidant standards (9).



Recent NOAA data (1974) for Barrow, Alaska shows values



lower than the standard (10).  To investigate this apparent



discrepancy 0-, measurements were planned.






The levels of aldehydes and halides were not felt to be sig-



nificant so there was no attempt to monitor them.






The in situ atmospheric forms of nitrogen and sulfur oxides



were continuously monitored and correlated with other air



pollutants.  Continuous measurements for 0,, SO-, NO, and



N0_ were performed with electronic instrumentation.



Lead (Pb), SOT and nitrate (NO,) weje captured as par-

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ticulates and determined by wet chemistry.  Carbon monoxide




data was furnished by the Fairbanks North Star Borough  and




the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.  Pb



data at sites other than the Federal building were also sup-



plied by the Borough.






It was planned to conduct the  air  quality measurements  daily



for one full year at an  urban  and  a rural site.   The major



urban site was the old Federal building  in downtown Fair-




banks, Alaska.   Other urban sites  were monitored.






The new Fairbanks, Alaska State Building has its  air intake




for the heating  and ventilating unit  (HVU) located on the




roof.  This  is not conventional design,  but is recommended



to reduce the intake of  automotive exhaust gases.  However,



the building has  a parking garage  as  its basement.  Leakage



from the garage  into the HVU would impair the indoor air



quality.  To investigate this  possibility, indoor-outdoor




air quality  monitoring was conducted  at  the State Building




during January 1979.






The rural site was on the West Ridge  of  the University  of



Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.  More detail  on the sampling




sites is in  Section 3.






The measurements  were accomplished during the winters of



1976 - 77, 77 -  78 and 1979.   Because the winter  of 76  - 77




was unusually warm it yielded  very little ice fog data.





                               4

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Particulates,  including ice fog, were not sampled during the




second and third winters.






Most of the data was obtained during the winter because that




has been the air pollution season in Fairbanks.  But as the



population and number of pollution sources increases, so



does the potential for summer season air pollution.




Therefore, the future possibility of summer time air pollu-



tion will also be discussed.

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                         SECTION 2




                SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS




This report summarizes a limited winter study of some of the



less commonly monitored air pollutants in the Fairbanks,



Alaska area.  This investigation found some things as ex-



pected and some surprises.




It is well known that mobile sources are responsible for



over 90 percent of the Fairbanks CO levels; the EPA air



quality standard for which is often exceeded during the



winter months.  Mobile sources are also major emitters of



hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and lead.  Therefore as ex-



pected, the Fairbanks urban area has high winter time levels



of nitrogen oxides and lead.




Oxidation of nitric oxide  (NO) to nitrogen dioxide (N07) ap-



peared to be controlled more by the concentration of ozone



(0-,) than by temperature.  NO readings at the Alaskan urban



site were generally higher than those in the other states.



Over 80 percent of the nitrogen oxides (NO ) was NO.  the,



NO  concentration was found to closely track the carbon
  x


monoxide (CO) concentration.  Most probably because they



both come from mobile sources.



                               6

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Because of comparatively high NO readings in the urban area,




the health effects of NO need to be determined to see if




Fairbanks has a problem.






The few pollutant measurements performed outside urban Fair-




banks indicate that the air pollution problem may be more



widespread in other areas of high automobile use such as the




City of North Pole, Alaska.  Also, the downwind oxidation



of NO to N0~ may be of significance when considering pol-




lutant transport.  The rural air was found to be much richer



in the 0-, that oxidizes the NO to NO-.  For these reasons




pollutant measurements should be taken over the entire



populated air basin.  The Fairbanks air basin roughly cor-



responds to the Chena River flood plain.






The Fairbanks downtown atmospheric lead (Pb) values were



found to be very high - four times the U.  S. EPA air quality




standard of 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter.  The complete



phase out of leaded gasoline in the 1980's should alleviate



this problem.  Meanwhile more monitoring for Pb is  needed,




particulary at elementary schools since children are more



susceptible to its toxic effects.  If high Pb concentrations



are found, then local authorities may want to consider




restrictions on automobile use on school grounds or restric-



tions on use of leaded gasoline during the winter months.

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Leakage of air pollutants from a parking garage into an ad-



jacent building can be a serious problem.  This is ap-



parently the case with the new Fairbanks State Building.  In



cases with such construction (adjacent garage) it is impera-



tive that the building ventilating system be designed and



operated so as to prevent intrusion of automotive exhaust



gases .





The number of automobiles is rapidly increasing in this



growing northern region.  Despite the mobile source control



efforts, there will probably be an accompanying increase in



NO  , hydrocarbon (HC), and CO emissions.  NOY  and HC are
  X                                         A


precursors to photochemical  (eye smarting) smog.  Their  in-



creased levels may result in smog on some warm, sunny,



summer days.
                              8

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                         SECTION 3

                   SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES

SITES AND SETUPS

Two sites in the Fairbanks air shed were initially chosen
for locating the monitoring equipment.  The more polluted
urban site was the Fairbanks station of record; where for
several years, the Fairbanks North Star Borough has
monitored ambient carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations.  This
station is at the old Fairbanks Post Office between 2nd and
3rd streets on Cushman Street.  At this site EPA data could
be directly correlated with Borough CO because all analyzers
were sampling the same air parcel.  The more rural site was
located on the West Ridge, University of Alaska, Fairbanks,
Alaska.  Each site was felt to be representative for its
area.  Indoor-outdoor air quality was monitored at the new
Fairbanks State of Alaska Building which is located on Bar-
nette Street between 7th and 8th Avenues.  All sites are
located on Figure 1.

URBAN SITE (FAIRBANKS POST OFFICE)

From November 8, 1976 to March 12, 1977 two 6.4 mm (0.25 in)
diameter teflon sample inlet tubes were routed from
                             9

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                                       post office
                                       /foolworths
                                  borough biilding
                                    slate ouildlng Q
                                                        23 km (14 mi)  lo north pole
Figure 1.  Fairbanks  Monitoring  Sites

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3 m (9.5 ft) above the sidewalk and 1 m  (3 ft)  out  from  the



front of the post office through a window into  the  basement



monitoring room.  The nitrogen oxide (NO  ) and  sulfur
                                         /\


dioxide (SO,,) instruments shared one of  the 11.2 m  (36.8  ft)



long by 6.4 mm (0.25 in) teflon tubes w'hich had a tee



fitting about 2 m (6 ft) from the NO  analyzer.  From  the
                                    X


tee, a 3.2 mm (0.125 in) teflon tube side arm ran to the  50^



instrument.  The other 6.4 mm (0.25 in)  teflon  tube sample



line, which was 9 m (3 ft) long, ran to  the ozone (0,)



monitor-  One high volume particulate sampler was located



adjacent to the inlet ends of the sample tubes.





All air quality monitoring instruments were shut off from



March 12,  1977 to April 7, 1977.  During that time  the



sample inlet tubing to each instrument was shortened.  It



was felt that these long sample lines were absorbing - ad-



sorbing some of the NO  before it reached the analyzer.



This line  loss was estimated at 25 percent using nitric ox-



ide (NO) span gas.  The long lines were replaced by a



3.1 m (10  ft) length of 7.5 cm (3 in) diameter poly vinyl



chloride (PVC) sewer pipe running through the window.





Slipstreams to each instrument were tapped into the PVC



pipe, 2.0  m (6.5 ft) from the inlet (window)  end.   The tap



to the NO   instrument was 1.5 m (4.9 ft) of 6.4 mm  (0.25 in)
         /\


teflon tubing.  The 3.2 mm (0.125 in) teflon  tubing tap to



the SO™ analyzer was 1.1 m (3.5 ft) long.  And the





                             11

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6.4 mm (0.25 in) teflon tubing tap to the 0, monitor was

0.94 m (3.1 ft) long.


The inlet end of the 7.5 cm PVC pipe was about 1 m  (3 ft)

above sidewalk level and 0.2 m (0.6 ft) out toward  Cushman

Street from the post office wall.  A small "muffin" fan was

attached to the inside  (discharge) end of this pipe to draw

a fresh sample.  It was initially  intended that the air

stream be laminar flow  to reduce contamination from the PVC

pipe walls.  But warm air rising to the top of the  post of-

fice building created such a draw  through the pipe  that

there was turbulent flow even without the fan running.
RURAL SITE  (ROOF  OF  ARCTIC  ENVIRONMENTAL  RESEARCH  STATION
(AERS))
The instruments for  gaseous monitoring  at  this site were set

up in the penthouse  on  top of  the  AERS  building.   The  AERS

building is  located  on  the south rim  of the  west  ridge  of

the University of  Alaska  campus.   More  specifically, the

site is located in Universal  Transverse Mercator  Zone  6,

459780 meter  Easting  coordinate and 7193430  meter  Northing

coordinate .


The sample inlets  were  13.3 m  (43.5 ft) above sidewalk

level.  Two  6.4 mm (0.25  in)  teflon tubes  were run from  the

instruments  through  the skylight adjacent  to the  high  volume

sampler inlet, 1.0 m  (3.3 ft)  above the penthouse  roof.  One
                               12

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of the tubes 5.3 m (17 ft) long ran to the 0, monitor.   The



tube for the S09 and NO  analyzers was teed at  the  S07
               fc       X                              ^


analyzer.  Its total length was 6.6 m (22 ft) to  the  NO
                                                       X


analyzer and 5.3 m (17 ft) via the tee to the S02 analyzer.






INDOOR - OUTDOOR SITE (STATE BUILDING)






The indoor air was sampled at the heating ventilating unit



(HVU) duct which supplied air to the interior of  all  rooms.



The duct carried about two thirds of the total  air  supplied



to all rooms.  From January 16 through January  25,  1979, a



6.4 mm (0.25 in) diameter teflon tube about 0.6 m (2  ft)



long was routed from the HVU duct (at the first floor level)



to the analysers.  One tube to the NO analyser  and  the other



to a CO analyser.






The outdoor ambient air sampling was at the same  location



as the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation CO



monitor.  From January 16 to January 25, 1979,  a  6.4 mm



(0.25in)diameter teflon sample inlet tube about 4 m (13 ft)



long was routed from a point about 4.7 m (15.5  ft)  above the



sidewalk and 1 m (3 ft) out from the exterior wall, through



the wall into the northeast corner monitor-ing room  to a NO



monitor.
                              13

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OTHER SITES

Some of the data that was obtained from  the North  Star
Borough, Department of Environmental Services was  taken at
several different sites.  For participate lead data they
were :

1.  On the roof of the Borough building  approx-
imately 6 m (20 ft) above street level.   The Borough
building is located between 4th and -5th  streets near Lacy
Street.

2.  On Woolworth's roof approximately  5  m (15 ft)  above
Cushman Street.  That store is located between 3rd and 4th
streets on Cushman Street.

3.  On the North Pole elementary school  roof approximately
3.7 m (12 ft)  above ground.   The school  is  the corner of 4th
avenue and Snowman Lane near  the fire  house.

The gaseous data for North  Pole was  taken at the water
supply plant which is just  across  Snowman Lane from the fire
station .

Meteorological data were  obtained  from the  national weather
service station at the Fairbanks International Airport.
That station is 7.9 km (4.9 mi) southwest of the urban site
and 5.2 km (3.2 mi) south of  the rural site.  The  urban site
was 6 m (18 ft) above the airport  elevation.  The  rural site
was 70 m (230  ft) above airport elevation but was  seldom
                              14

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above the atmospheric inversions which often top out at  200



to 2000 m (600 to 6000 ft) above Fairbanks.





GASES





Concentrations of the following gases were continuously



measured by electronic instruments attached to chart



recorders .





NO-NO
— —x




A Monitor Labs Inc. model 8440 analyzer was used for



measuring NO and NO  concentrations in the atmosphere.    The



analyzer measured the light given off by the chemilumenes-



cent reaction of NO with 0, to determine the NO concentra-



tion.  The NO  (which is NO + N0?) concentration was deter-
             /\                  £


mined by first quantitatively reducing, over a molybdenum



catalyst, the NO- to NO.  The total NO was then measured by



the above chemilumenescent reaction.   The N0? concentration



was reported by electronically substracting NO from NO  .
                                                      X




During the first winter, calibration  was accomplished using



a Monitor Labs model 8500 calibrator  as a dilution source



and NO in nitrogen (N») span gas which was verified against



a National Bureau of Standards reference.  The first



calibration was on February 3, 1977.   Later calibrations the



first winter were not on any set schedule due to limited ac-



cess to the calibrator.  However, four more calibrations



were conducted.




                             15

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A Bendix model 8861DA calibration system was used as the



dilution source during the second and third winter and



calibration was performed at least twice a month.  Zero



checks were performed daily Monday through Friday during all



winters .
A Meloy Laboratories  Inc. Model  SA 185-2A analyzer was used



to determine ambient  sulfur dioxide  (S0?) concentration by




the Flame Photometric Detection  technique.  This technique



involves measuring  the intensity of  the  light emitted by the



sulfur species  as it  passes through  a hydrogen flame.



Detection specificity for S0»  is attained by use of a 394




nanometer narrow band pass filter and a  hydrogen sulfide




scrubber.   Calibration was performed weekly with a Meloy



Model CS10-2,  S0? permeation tube calibration source.







°3





Ozone (0-,)  was  measured with a Dasibi Model 1003-AH 0,



monitor, which  employs the principle of  ultraviolet (UV) ab-




sorption .






The monitor's  response was checked by the Bendix 8861DA



calibration  system  which  has a built-in  0, generator.  The




0, generator was calibrated by gas phase  titration.  Gas



phase titration is  the use of  the quantative reaction:






                               16

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NO + 0, ->- 0  + N0_ to measure the 0, concentration.   The




drop in NO concentration (as measured by the NO monitor) ex-



actly equals the 0, concentration generated by the Bendix




calibrator -






CO






The CO data at the old Federal Building were obtained by the



Fairbanks North Star Borough, Department of Environmental



Services (DES) with a Beckman model 865 non-dispersive in-




frared (NDIR) analyzer.  The outdoor CO values at the new



State Building were obtained by the Alaska Department of En-



vironmental Conservation (ADEC) with a Beckman model 866



NDIR analyser.  Both environmental departments (DES and



ADEC) zeroed and spanned their NDIR analysers daily.  The



indoor CO values at the State Building were obtained with



an Ecolyzer Model #7000.  The Ecolyzer was spanned (checked



and adjusted) with 50 ppm CO span gas at about 0900 and 1600



daily-






PARTICULATES






Total suspended particulates (TSP) were measured by use of




a General Metal Works, Inc., high volume air sampler (Hi



Vol) which is essentially a vacuum cleaner motor and blower



with a 20 X 25 cm (8 X 10 in) glass fiber filter mounted on




its inlet.  The Hi Vol's outlet was an orifice for flow



measurement.




                              17

-------
Sulfate (S0~), Nitrate (N03), and Lead  (Pb) were determined



by leaching them from the filter surface.   SCT was deter-



mined by the Automated Chloranilate method  (11).  N0~ was



determined by the Cadmium Reduction - Diazo coupling



method (11); Pb was determined by the Atomic  Absorption



method (11).
MEASUREMENT ACCURACY






When sampling  air  at  one  location,  it  is  very difficult  to




extrapolate the data  to say,  this  is representative  of the




air people are actually breathing.   The sample  inlets at  the



urban  site (Fairbanks  Post  Office)  were,  until  March 1977,



located  3 m (9.5 ft)  above  sidewalk level,  well  above the




location of most human nostrils.   Also, the  inlet was ap-



proximately 3  m (9 ft) in  (toward  the  post  office) from  the



street curb.   On April 6,  1977  the  sample inlet  was  lowered




to  1 m (3 ft)  above sidewalk  level.  At the  new  State



Building the outdoor  sample inlet  was  4.7 m  (15.5 ft) above




the sidewalk and 8.2  m (27  ft)  in  from the  street curb.   In



all cases pedestrian  traffic  was between  the sampler inlet




and the  curb .  These  factors  indicate  that  people on the



sidewalks were probably breathing  air  more  contaminated  with




auto exhaust   than that sampled.






An  error analysis  for  some  of the  various measuring  uncer-




tainties follows.
                              18

-------
NO - NO
—   —x
The NO span gas concentration was verified against  a stan-



dard reference material related to a National Bureau of



Standards standard.  Maximum probable error -1 percent.
The accuracy and/or precision of the Bendix calibrator was



-5 percent  It was initially calibrated and later rechecked



by timed water displacement in a volumetric flask.





There was considerable span drift (drop in response) on the



NO - NO  analyzer during the first winter-  Its first check
       /\


with span gas showed that it was onl'y indicating about 30



percent of the actual NO and NO  concentrations.  During



those times when the instrument response was that low the



data were not taken off the chart record.
In the second winter period the NO - NO  analyzer was



calibrated weekly, so the calibration error was never more



than 5 percent.  Three to six hours were required for each



span during which time data was not recorded.  Quite often



even at full gain the NO - NO  analyzer couldn't indicate
                             /\


the span gas strength although its response was always



proportional.  Therefore, span curves of actual NO concen-



tration vs instrument response were utilized to correct



data.  The maximum drop in response amounted to 15 percent



during January 1979.  Checks indicated that as much as



25 percent ofthe NO span gas was depleted in the long inlet



                              19

-------
line used before March 1977.  So the analyzer was calibrated



through this line which allowed the span curve to account



for this loss.  The analyzer detection limit is 0.002 parts



per million (ppm) NO, NO  or NQ?.  Considering the author's
                        s\      £


feel for instrument precision and all the above inac-



curacies, the maximum probable error dropped from -40 per-



cent for the first winter to -20 percent for the second and



third winter .
The Meloy  SO-  analyzer had  a manufacturer's specified sen-



sitivity of  0.004  ppm  and  a precision  of  0.005 ppm.  All of



the readings were  at or below  this  level ,  so  the estimated



accuracy is  -50  percent or  0.004  ppm,  which ever is greater.
 The manufacturer's  specified  sensitivity  for  the  0, monitor



 was 0.001  ppm.   It  was  not  calibrated  during  the  first



 winter,  but  gas  phase titration  the  second winter  showed  100



 percent  response.   Therefore,  the  only error  is  0-j loss in



 the inlet  lines.   Since  0,  is  a  very unstable  gas, the error



 is estimated  to  be  as high  as  50 percent  during  the first



 winter  (with  long  inlet  lines);  down to 10 percent during



 the second winter  with  the  shorter line.
                               20

-------
The error for the CO measurement with the NDIR analysers is




low because they are stable instruments and the span gas




strength was easily verified and could be used at full




strength.  Also, CO is a chemically non-reactive gas and as




such is not affected by dirty or long inlet lines.  The er-



ror for NDIR CO measurement is expected to be less than



10 percent.  The Ecolyzer was subject to considerable drift,




so its measurement accuracy is believed to be only within



2 ppm CO.






Particulates






Accuracy with the High Volume sampler is hard to estimate



because of flow measurement, recycling, and semi volatile



particulates.  Flow calibration and measurement is estimated




to be within - 15 percent.  High Volume samplers tend to



resample some of the air they have just exhausted.  That




amount has not been quantified, but it is assumed to be in



the order of 15 percent.  Volatiles such as heavy hydrocar-



bons (oily soot) on the filters would partially evaporate



in a dessicator before weighing and cause a lowering of the



readings.  Filter clogging with ice fog particles was not



a problem because the winter of 76-77 was too warm for ice



fog.
                              21

-------
In summation, many of the particulates, SO"  NO,, and Pb



values may be from 30 percent low to zero percent high.





A chronological summary of the estimated maximum probable



errors is listed in  Table 1.  The actual errors are unknown.



Therefore, the table is quite subjective.  But the estimates



are felt to be conservative.  Easier access to the calibra-



tion equipment during the second and third winter greatly



decreased the analytical errors for NO-NO  and 0,.  The er-
                                         /\      J


rors for other sites is expected to be:  +20 percent for




N0-N0x, +1Q percent  for o    ancj _3Q +g percent for all par-




ticulates .
                               22

-------
                                    TABLE 1



               CHRONOLOGICAL ESTIMATE OF MAXIMUM PROBABLE ERRORS

DATE
1976
NOV
DEC
1977
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
SEPT
OCT
NOV
DEC
1978
JAN
FEB
1979
JAN
SITE
Urban
Rural
Urban
Rural
Urban
Rural
Urban
Rural
Urban
Rural
Urban
Rural
Urban
Rural
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Outdoor
Indoor
NO-NO
/\
±40%
±40%
±40%
±40%
±40%
±40%
±40%
±40%
±40%
±40%
±40%
±40%
±40%
±40%
±30%
±25%
±25%
±25%
±20%
±20%
±20%
±20%
03
-20%
-25%
-30%
-40%
-50%
-50%
-50% OR
±0.001
-50%
-50%
-50%
±20%
-50%
±20%
-50%
±10%
±10%
±15%
±15%
±10%
±10%
-
S02
-
-
±0.
±0.
±0.
ppm
±0.
±0.
±0.
±0.
±0.
-
-
±0.
±0.
±0.
±0.
-


004
004
004
004
004
004
004
004


004
004
004
004



ppm
ppm
ppm
ppm
ppm
ppm
ppm
ppm


ppm
ppm
ppm
ppm

PARTICULATE
(TSP), NO 3,
SOJ, Pb
-30%
-30%
-30%
-30%
-30%
-30%
-30%
-30%
-30%
-30%
-30%
-30%
-30%
-30%
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%







Note:   A negative percentage means the value may be that percentage low.




                                     23

-------
                         SECTION 4






              POLLUTANT SOURCES AND DISPERSION






The two important elements that determine air pollution are



emission sources and dispersion.  The sources, usually com-



bustion exhaust gases, contain the pollutants in high con-



centrations.  After emission, the pollutants are diluted by



dispersion.  Atmospheric dispersion equations are used to



estimate the concentration of a particular pollutant at a



given distance from any source under various meteorological



conditions .






SOURCES





When discussing the Fairbanks air pollution problem, the



sources can be broken down into two general types:  mobile



and stationary.  The mobile sources are automobiles and



trucks.  Their gasoline engines are the major sources of



carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO ), lead (Pb), and
                                         /\


ice fog in the Fairbanks air.  Also, a considerable fraction



of the total suspended particles comes from dust entrainment



by traffic on sanded streets.
                               24

-------
In gasoline engines the CO is a result of incomplete combus-



tion.  Gasoline engines operate at such a low air to fuel



ratio that there is not enough oxygen (0~) to completely ox-



idize the carbon in the gasoline to carbon dioxide (C0«).





NO  will be used as the general formula for mixtures of



nitric oxide (NO) plus nitrogen dioxide (NO-)-  NO is the



major component of NO  from combustion processes.  It is
                     /\


created by the high temperature combination of atmospheric



nitrogen (N-) and 0?.  The NO is then oxidized to N0~;



slowly by atmospheric 07,  or rapidly by ozone (0,).   Automo-



tive lead (Pb) emissions ars released because of leaded



gasoline.  Water vapor for ice fog formation is created when



the hydrogen in the hydrocarbon fuel (gasoline or diesel



oil) is burned.  Mobile sources are usually cited by the



motoring public as being the major source of ice fog.





Stationary source emissions are mainly flue gases from power



and heating plants.  These flue gases are rich in NO , sul-
                                                    X


fur dioxide (SO-), total suspended particles (TSP),  and



water vapor (ice fog).





Home heating units burning distillate oils are not a sig-



nificant source of S0_ because the local fuel oil contains



less than 0.02 percent sulfur.





In comparison to the home  heating furnaces and mobile



sources, the" power plant flue gases are emitted with such




                              25

-------
a plume height that their gaseous emissions are usually well




diluted before reaching ground level.  The sulfur content




of the Healy, Alaska coals is quite low, around 0.2 percent,




which means that the impact of the Alaskan coal fired power




plants is nowhere near as great as if they were to burn




eastern United States coals with greater than 1 percent sul-



fur .






The coal fired power plants are significant sources of the




total  suspended particles which settle around and downwind




of each power plan.t.  The fly ash concentration is most evi-



dent  on the surface of old snow near  the power plants.






The present stoker fired power plants have no flue gas fly



ash removal devices such as scrubbers, electrostatic



precipitators or bag houses.  For gross fly ash control they




use a  sedimentation chamber and multicyclones, a major pur-



pose  of which is to prevent downstream equipment such as in-



duced  draft fans from being severely  eroded by the fly ash.



However, when properly operated the stoker fired power




plants are usually able to meet the Alaska state (1977) air




quality emission regulations.






Heating and power plants are significant sources of ice fog,




but because of high plume height, the ice fog from power



plant  stack gases does not always contribute  to the Fair-




banks  ground  level visibility problem.  Ice fog from their




cooling waters is more often a problem.



                              26

-------
Ozone (0,) is not emitted directly into the atmosphere from




any particular pollution source.  It comes from two sources



(1) occasional down welling to terrestrial levels from a




naturally occurring 0, rich layer in the stratosphere, and



(2) a complex chain of photochemical Reactions initiated



when hydrocarbon (HC) and NO  emissions are exposed to sun-




light.






DISPERSION






For estimating atmospheric dispersion the method of Pasquill



with Gifford's conversion is recommended by EPA (12).   It



is used to estimate ground level concentration of a gaseous




pollutant from a remote source.  It assumes the plume



dispersion is defined by Gaussian distributions.  A major




problem with this method is that during arctic winters the



lower atmosphere is at times more stable than any of Gif-



ford's stability categories.  The steep but shallow winter



temperature inversions that exist over the Fairbanks area



usually make the Pasquill-Gifford estimates unreliable.






Typical temperature inversions over Fairbanks usually  begin



at ground level (surface based) and terminate at less  than



500 m (1500 ft).  However, normal adiabatic lapse rates may



not be reached until 1 to 2 km (3000 to 6000 ft) above



ground level.  An inversion gradient of 1°C per meter  in the



lowest seven meters has been measured at the Fairbanks air-
                             27

-------
port-  However, inversion strengths of 5 to 50°C per 100



meters at the airport are much more common.  For the past



four years the average surface based inversion strength was



8°C per 100 meters during times when the downtown post of-



fice (urban site) 8 hour maximum CO average was 15 ppm or



greater.  Temperature inversions measured by the Weather



Service were found to exist in over 50 percent of the sur-



roundings during the winter months.  Without these per-



sistant winter inversions, Fairbanks would not have an air



pollution problem caused by exhaust gases.  However, air



pollution caused by particulates could still be a problem.
                              28

-------
                         SECTION 5





                       AMBIENT LEVELS





DATA LISTING





For the first two winters the ambient levels of the gaseous



components were integrated from the data strip chart records



to calculate a daily one hour highest value and a 24 hour



(nominal) daily average.  The particulates were listed as



24 hour daily averages.  The February 1977 daily data for



the urban (Fairbanks Post Office) and the rural site (AERS



roof) are listed in Tables 2 and 3.  All monthly averages



are listed in Tables 4 and 5.  February contains some of the



highest pollutant levels recorded for the winter of 1976 -



77.





GASES
                       *




NO  is the arithmetic sum of NO (nitric oxide) and NO-
  X                                                  £•


(nitrogen dioxide).  For the urban data (Tables 2, 4,



and 5), notice that usually less than 20 percent of the NO



is oxidized to NO^-  This is especially true when the



NO  > 0.2 ppm.  The rural NO (Tables 3 and 4) is approx-
  X ^


imately 50 percent oxidized to NO,,.  The reason for this



difference will be discussed under reactions in this se'c-



                            29

-------
CO
o
                                                                           TABLE 2

                                                        URBAN SITES AIR QUALITY DATA.   FEBRUARY 1977


Column
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
ppfim
24 hr 1 hr
ave. high

(1)
<5
~5 11
— —
25 70
18 52
38 80
32 67
31 95
19 80
— —
26 74
12 30
8 23
22 54
>30 >100
11 34
29 106
13 76
5 23
13 120
31 140
8 31
21 57
51 180
13 44
8 25
8 45
11 38
N02
pphm
24 hr
ave.

(Z)
—
—
—
3
1
3
2
5
3
—
4
3
—
5
—
—
2
—
1
—
—
0
1
—
0
2
—
...

1 hr
high


—

—
4
1
—
—
._.
—
—
—
—
—
6
—
2
—
1
0
—
—
0
—
—
—
2
—
0
NOg
ug/m3
24 hr
ave.

(3)
0.3
1.7
—
1.9
—
—
2.6
2.2
1.7
3.8
3.2
—
—
1.3
2.5
2.4
3.4
1.5
—
—
—
0.4
0.7
1.4
1.0
—
—
1.0
03
ppb
24 hr
ave.

(4)
8
1
—
—
—
—
1
2
2
—
1
1
<1
1
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
...
Fairbanks, AK
CO
ppm
1 hr
high


18
3
—
—
—
—
5
8
10
—
5
2
2
2
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
...
8 hr
high

(5)
5
6
7
18
10
17
15
17
15
15
15
13
9
15
28
9
16
22
5
13
17
14
6
20
17
5
4
7

24 hr
ave.


3
3
5
9
6
11
11
11
8
9
11
8
6
9
13
7
11
10
4
8
10
6
4
12
4
3
2
5
ug/m3
24 hr
ave.

(6)
8.9
6.1
—
9.4
—
—
5.8
5.8
5.3
5.8
6.3
—
—
5.6
5.2
5.7
5.9
4.6
—
—
—
5.4
6.2
5.6
5.9
—
—
5.7
TSP
ug/m3
24 hr
ave.

(7)
48
60
—
96
—
—
79
77
57
82
95
—
—
62
88
76
no
58
—
—
—
32
42
74
41
—
—
53
Inversion
Strength at
Airport
°C/m

(8)
snow
snow
13/1100
7.5/75
7.9/33
9.8/23
11/54
12/44
9.8/61
2.6/25
12/36
8.8/66
7.9/52
1.4/8
^*
ppnm
24 hr
ave.

(9)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
13
24
32
16
7
11
3.9/33 32
7.3/7
5.3/35
14/77
6.1/74
21
25
8
6
10/80 i 7
3.6/101
10/52
9/1000
5.2/26
9/86
2. 9/90
—
4.7/69
10
8
11
11
8
6
11
7
Northpole, AK
CO
ppm
8 hr 24 hr
high ave.

(10)
—
— —
— —
— —
— —
— —
— —
9 6
8 2
8 4
9 5
8 2
8 4
7 2
11 5
8 2
4 3
4 1
1 1
2 1
5 4
5 1
4 1
4 2
4 1
1 1
1 0
1 1
        NOTE:      A tabulated value of zero (0) for the following gases  means  a  value  less  than  listed  below:

                       NO, N02 - 0.002 ppm - 0.2 pphm - 2 ppb
                       03      - 0.001 ppm - 1  ppb
                       S02     - 0.004 ppm - 0.4 pphm - 4 ppb
                  ppm  - parts per million
                  pphm - parts per hundred million
                  ppb  - parts per billion
                 ug/m3 - micrograms per cubic meter at 76  cm  of  H   and  25°C
                                                                9

-------
                                                    TABLE 3

                                  RURAL SITE AIR QUALITY DATA.   FEBRUARY  1977

NO
ppB
24 hr 1 hr
ave. high
Column
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
(1)
15 64
37
>27
>35
22
1
3
42
68
15
9
5
0
8
—
—
—
—
—
—
— — —
86
>100
>100
>100
>1
70
106
310
130
70
25
0
70
—
—
—
—
—
—
_ —
N£a
ppb
24 hr 1 hr
ave. high
(2)
10 29
12
14
>16
12
0
7
23
28
11
—
—
—
3
—
—
—
—
—
—
_._
36
68
—
>41
0
30
41
90
65
70
25
—
20
—
—
—
—
—
—
___
ug/m3
24 hr
ave.
(3)
0.2
0.5
0.6
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
1.1
—
—
—
—
—
0.5
—
—
—
—
—
0.4
03
ppb
24 hr 1 hr
ave. high
(4)
14 42
32 45
41 49
36 45
37 52
39 48
11
27
28
36
33
42
16
23
42
45
42
46
39
—
37
39
37
33
35
43
33
41
47
47
52
48
49
42
49
49
47
51
45
—
44
48
45
44
47 •
49
S04
ug/m3
24 hr
ave.
(5)
2.2
1.3
1.8
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
2.7
—
—
—
—
—
1.2
—
—
—
—
—
1.4
S02
pphm
24 hr 1 hr
ave. high
(6)
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.5
1.0
0
0
0
0.5
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
TSP
ug/m3
24 hr
ave.
(7)
7
8
7
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
15
—
—
—
—
—
8
—
—
—
—
—
7
NOTE:      A tabulated value of zero (0)  for the  following  gases means a value less than listed below:

          NO,  N02 - 0.002 ppm   0.2 pphm   3 ppb
          03        0.001 ppm   1  ppb
          S02        0.004 ppm - 0.4 pphm -  4 ppb


          ppm   - parts per million
          pphm   parts per hundred million
          ppb   - parts per billion
         ug/m3 - micorgram per cubic meter  at 76 cm  of  Hg  and  25°C
                                                  31

-------
                                                   TABLE 4

                                                FIRST WINTER
                           FAIRBANKS AREA MONTHLY AVERAGE VALUES OF AIR POLLUTANTS
Location
Sample
(Site)
1976
Nov Rural
Urban
Ratio U/R
Dec Rural
Urban
Ratio U/R
1977
Jan Rural
Urban
Ratio U/R
Feb Rural
Urban
Ratio U/R
Mar Rural
Urban
Ratio U/R
Apr Rural
Urban
Ratio U/R
May Rural
Urban
Ratio U/R
NO
24 hr 1 hr
0.17
0.002
0.21
18
0.007
0.15
21
0.01
0.18
18
0.003
0.15
50
0.004
0.11
28
0.005
0.02
4
N02
24 hr 1 hr
(All gases are in
0.43 0.04 0.08
0.043
0.46
11
0.028
0.34
12
0.055
0.65
12
0.021
0.38
18
0.013
0.29
22
0.019
0.06
3
0.023
0.06
3
0.010
0.039
4
0.01
0.01
1
0.017
0
0
0.003
0
0
0.004
0.01
0
0.081
0.09
1
0.030
0.079
3
0.033
0.01
0.3
0.049
0
0
0.011
0
0
0.026
0.01
0
(
24 hr"
h SOi NQi
1 hr 24 hr 1 hr 24 hr
parts per million)
0.005 0.014
0.004
0.008
2
0.011
0.007
0.6
0.034
0.002
0.06
0.037
0.004
0.1
0.032
0.010
0.3
0.014
0.015
1
0.004
0.019
5
0.019 0.00
0.016
0.8
0.046 0.00
0.006
0.1
0.049 0.00
0.008
0.2
0.041 0.00
0.021 -
0.5
0.050 0.00
0.025
0.5
(All
per
0.6
1.2
2
0.3
1.1
4
0.00 0.3
1.5
5
0.00 0.6
1.8
3
0.00 0.6
1.1
2
0.00 0.4
0.6
1.5
0.00 0.1
0.3
3
24~hr
TSP
24~hr
Pb
24 hr
% of
TSP
That
Is Pb
solids are in milligrams
cubic meter)
2.3 16 0.25 1.7
6.9 210 5.8 3.5
3 13 23
1.9
7.3
4
1.7
8.5
5
1.8
6.1
3
2.2
4.1
2
2.1
3.8
2
1.4
2.4
2
7
115
16
8
90
11
9
68
8
18
53
3
35
500
14
42
300
7
0.11
6.0
55
0.12
6.0
50
0.18
4.3
24
0.19
2.3
12


2.0
5.0
1.8
6.5
2.2
6.1
1.4
4.3


A tabulated value of zero (0) for the following cases means a value less than that listed  below:

     NO, N02 - 0.002 ppm

     03        0.001 ppm

     S02     ~ 0.004 ppm
                                                    32

-------
CO
CO
                                                  TABLE 5

                                               SECOND WINTER
                       FAIRBANKS URBAN SITE MONTHLY AVERAGE VALUES OF AIR POLLUTANTS

NO N02 03 S02
24 hr 1 hr 24 hr 1 hr 24 hr 1 hr 24 hr 1 hr
1977
Sept 0.081 0.25 0.021 0.045 0.007 0.018 —
Oct 0.09 0.31 0.019 0.030 0.007 0.014 —
Nov 0.19 0.41 0.032 0.044 0.008 0.018 0.0 0.01
Dec 0.20 0.51 0.024 0.033 0.010 0.019 0.007 0.014
1978
Jan 0.29 0.69 0.031 0.045 0.011 0.021 0.00 0.00
Feb 0.20 0.51 0.035 0.067 0.013 0.025 0.00 0.00
AVERAGE
Ratio
CO/NOV
24 lxhr
hr high
-130
45
82
24

29
21
34
-140
56
34
30

30
24
34
Correlation
Coefficient
24 1 hr
hr high
-0.
0.
0.
0.

0.
0.
0.
40
69
16
85

62
88
69
i
-0.
0.
0.
0.

0.
0.
0.
(-
22
55
69
30

61
71
67
   A zero (0) value for S02 means <0.004 ppm

-------
tion.   Also note that the urban monthly  average  NO   is  about
                                                  /\
10 times that measured for  the rural  site.   The  maximum  one
hour high NO values measured  in Fairbanks  rival  those
measured in Los Angeles  (13).

The reasons for these high  NO  values are:   the  concentra-
                              x\
tion of mobile sources in downtown  Fairbanks  and the strong
atmospheric temperature  inversions.   The radiosonde
soundings of temperature versus height above  the Fairbanks
International Airport, Table  2, column 8 show that  there
were only 3 days in February  1977 without  a  temperature
inversion.  The strongest inversion  strength  of  1°C  per
meter for the lowest  7 meters  occurred on  the 16th.  Even
though  the radiosonde launch  site is  about 7.9 km (4.9  mi)
from the Fairbanks post  office, it  is on the  same flood
plain and can therefore  be  expected  to give  some indication
of  the  meteorology at the urban site-.  However,  the  strong
anthroprogenic heat island  over Fairbanks  prevents  direct
extrapolation of airport data to  the  urban site.  The heat
island  tends to allow some  atmospheric mixing within the
inversion layer (14).

The North Pole data follows the same  trend as the Fairbanks
data, i.e. the NO  and CO peak on the same day.   Even though
                 /\
North Pole is less than  1/5 the size  of Fairbanks and is
located 23 km (14 mi) south east  of  Fairbanks, it most
probably sits under the  same  temperature inversion.  And  as
in  Fairbanks, mobile  sources  are  the  main  generators of  CO.
                             34

-------
What is the ultimate fate of the reactive nitrogen and  sul-



fur oxides?  Sandberg et al . (15) suggest they usually



precipitate from the atmosphere as salts.  One of the major



inorganic end products of NO  is the nitrate ion (N0~).  For
                            /\                       J


example, the nitrate ion would combine with any cation  (M  )



to form the nitrate salt (MNO,).  Stoichiometrically, it



would take approximately 0.0007 parts per million (ppm) of



NO to form the 1.8 micrograms per cubic meter (yg/m ) NO,



February 1977 average.  Since the NO average amounts to



0.18 ppm, only about 0.4 percent of the NO makes it to  the



NO-, end product.  A conversion of about 1 percent is



achieved at the rural sits if it is assumed all NO, is  of



anthropogenic origin.  However, the natural background  NO,



may be high enough to make the rural site NO  conversion ap-
                                            /\


pear higher than it really is.





Sulfur dioxide (S0?) is likewise further oxidized to at-



mospheric sulfate (SOT).  Stoichiomstric calculations show



that the complete oxidation of 0.001 ppm of SO^ should  yield



4 yg/m  of SOT.  Since over 99 percent of the SO,, readings



were below the minimum detectable limit of 0.004 ppm, no



conclusions can be drawn concerning S0« oxidation.





The very low S0? concentration indicates that little if any



stack gases from the local coal burners was mixing  into the



lower atmospheric layer-  When ice fog gets deep enough it



has been obse-rved to incorporate these power plant  plumes.




                             35

-------
During the two winter sampling periods, ice fog did not



build up enough to entrap the plumes and cause ground level



S0_ concentration to increase.






Holty in 1972  (2) compared pollution levels with and without



ice fog near downtown Fairbanks  and found  that the concen-



tration of nitrogen oxides including nitrate plus nitrites



and sulfates and  lead were increased by a  factor of two  to



three during ice  fog.   His S02 readings also increased by



slightly more  than 50 times.






During this  (AERS) program there  were  only six days with ice



fog during December 1977.  The ice fog  apparently did not



increase the levels of  the gaseous pollutants when compared



to days adjacent  to the  ice  fog  period.  However, six days



is too short a time for  comparison.





Since, in  the  Fairbanks  area, automobiles  and trucks are the



major sources  of  NO  and  carbon  monoxide (CO), it follows
                   /v


that  there should be a  close  correlation between the two



gases.  The  average ratio of  CO  to NO   (CO/NO ) from October
                                     X       /\


through February  of the  second winter  (urban) data was 34



for both the 24 hour average  values and the one hour high



values.  The average linear  correlation coefficients for



this  ratio (CO/NO :34/l)  were 0.69 for  the 24 hour average



and 0.67 for the  1 hour  high.  These coefficients are high



enough to  state definitely that  CO and  N0x are proportional




to each other.


                              36

-------
The CO and NO  emissions for the most predominant stationary
             A


sources in Fairbanks - coal burners and domestic oil fur-



naces - is listed in EPA's AP-42(16).  The emission ratio



of CO to NO  for both these fuels is less than 1.  Environ-
           x


ment Canada (17) measured CO and NO  emissions in the range



of -30 to +20°C from two 1975 automobiles.  The ratio of CO



to NO  ranged from 41 at -30°C to 16 at 0°C.  This emission
     x    ^


ratio (CO/NO ) range brackets the ambient ratio of 34, which



would tend to indicate that the principal sources of NO



must be internal combustion engines.  If stationary sources



were the major NO  emitter, then the ambient ratio (CO/NO )
                 X                                       X


would be about 1 or less.
PARTICULATES




The total suspended particulate measurements (TSP) that were


performed during the first winter are listed in Table 4.



Generally the particles appeared as soot on the Hi Vol


filters.  The exposed filters from the urban site had a


characteristic odor of coal tar.  Those from the rural site


had little or no odor and at times had so few particles that


a two day collection was necessary to get enough to weigh.



The urban site particulates averaged 190 yg/m .  And the


rural site particulates averaged 19 yg/m .   The urban site



monthly averages were from 3 to  6 times the rural site par-


ticulate concentration.  During breakup in  April the road


dust increased the urban site particulate levels by a factor


of 10 over those in March.

                              37

-------
The particulates data on Table 4  allows comparison between




the total particulates, NO" and SO^.   The  rural  site par-




ticulates have a higher fraction  of N0~ and  SO^  than do  the



urban site particulates.






The lead (Pb) data is presented in  Table  6.   The  AERS  data




is monthly average values.  For the rural  averages the Pb




concentration ranged from 0.1  to  0.25  yg/m   and  from 2.3 to



6  ug/m  for  the AERS urban averages.   The  urban  to rural




ratios varied from 16 to 50 showing that  the  urban area  has




over 10 times the rural Pb concentration.   The Fairbanks




North Star Borough data is listed  as daily  averages.   Their




Pb data for  Fairbanks is comparable to the  old post office




(AERS urban  site) data even though  the Borough's  Hi Vol



samplers were located from 2 to 4  m (6 to  12  ft)  higher  than




the AERS sampler.  Pb concentrations should  be higher  nearer



the ground because the major source of Pb  (automobile  tail-




pipes) emits it at less than 1 m  (3 ft) above  street level



and temperature inversions inhibit  upward  dispersion.






Pb is a substantial constituent of  the total  suspended par-




ticulates  (TSP) measured in the populated  air  basin.   The



urban TSP  contain more Pb than the  rural  TSP.  For example,



the AERS urban site TSP contained  from 3.5  to  6.5 percent




Pb , while  the rural TSP contained  only 1.4  to  2.2 per-



cent Pb.   The Borough  (all urban)  data also  fits  in with the




AERS urban site data.  The Pb  content  for  the  Borough  data




ranges from  1.9 to 6.8 percent of the  TSP.



                             38

-------
                                                           TABLE 6
                                                FAIRBANKS AREA LEAD (Pb) DATA
CO

Arctic Environmental
Date
1976
Nov.
Dec.
1977
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.

Location
Rural (R)
Urban (U)
Ratio (U/R)
Rural
Urban
Ratio
Rural
Urban
Ratio
Rural
Urban
Ratio
Rural
Urban
Ratio

Research Station Data
Pb ug/m3
0.25
5.8
(23)
0.11
6.0
(55)
0.12
6.0
(50)
0.18
4.3
(24)
0.19
2.3
(12)

Pb(100)/TSP
1.7
3.5
2.0
5.0
1.8
6.5
2.2
6.1
1.4
4.3

Fairbanks North Star Borough Data
Date
12-9-77
1-14-78
1-20-78
2-2-78
2-7-78
2-13-78
2-19-78
2-25-78
11-8-75
11-14-78
11-20-78
11-26-78
2-12-76
2-18-77
2-24-76
11-3-77
11-9.-77
11-15-77
12-3-77
Location
Borough Bldg.
Borough Bldg.
Borough Bldg.
Borough Bldg.
Borough Bldg.
Borough Bldg.
Borough Bldg.
Borough Bldg.
Woolworths
Woolworths
Woolworths
Woolworths
Woolworths
Woolworths
Woolworths
Woolworths
Woolworths
Woolworths
North Pole School
Pb ug/m3
3.6
4.6
3.7
4.7
0.6
4.2
2.6
1.0
6.5
4.7
12.3
1.0
6.8
2.1
1.8
1.9
3.8
1.5
2.8
Pb(100)/TSP
4.3 *
6.8
6.3
5.2
1.9
6.8
3.6
2.7
3.5
5.3
6.3
1.9
3.2
3.3
3.0
2.6
3.7
3.6
5.0
       NOTE:     Pb(100)/TSP is the percent of the total suspended particles that is lead.
       ug/m3 - micrograms per cubic meter at 76 cm of Hg  and 25°C.

-------
All of this atmospheric Pb must be  of  anthroprogenic  origin



since the natural background  Pb concentration  is  less than



0.01 yg/m .  Since there  are  no Pb  related  industries in  the



Fairbanks area, combustion of  leaded  gasoline  is  the  major



source of atmospheric  Pb  at  all sites.
REACTIONS





Literature indicates  that  the  SO-  oxidation  to  SO,  and  on



to SOT is enhanced by  high temperatures  (flue gas)  and  the



presence of such catalysts as  iron  and vanadium  in  fly



ash  (7).  On  the other  hand,  research supported  by  the  Elec-



tric Power Research  Institute  (18)  indicated that  the  oxida-



tion of  SO,, to  SOT on  High Volume  filters  (loaded  with  par-



ticulates) is accelerated  by  low  temperature.   The  low  tem-



perature effects were  not  noticed",  probably  because the SO-



levels were below  instrument  sensitivity.





NO is the major emitted form  of  NO  ,  (N0+N0?) from  combus-
                                   J\        £m


tion sources.   When  considering  the nitrogen oxide  data the



extent of NO  oxidation  to  NO-  is  determined  by  calculating



the  ratio of  N09 to  NO  .   That ratio  (NO /NO )  times 100 is
                L.       X                 ^    X


the  percentage  NO  oxidized to  NO--   For  the  urban  winter



data (exclusive of May) the percentage varied from  0 to 22



while it ranged from 43 to 85  percent  for  the rural data.



Why  was  a larger fraction  of  the  NO  composed of NO- at the
                                    /\                "


rural site, but composed  of NO at  the  urban  site?   This was
                               40

-------
probably due to the high concentration of NO and compara-



tively limited ozone (0,) level at the urban site.  Ozone,



a very strong oxidant, is believed to be the main oxidizing



agent for NO, via the following reaction:



NO + 0-,  -»-  N0? + 0_.  In the polluted urban air, it is



hypothesized that the reducing particulates such as soot and



fly ash readily react with the 0,, reducing its levels to



practically zero.  Thus, because of the lack of oxidants



such as 0,, the Fairbanks winter air can be considered to



be rich in reducing agents.  In contrast, photochemical



smog, because it contains considerable 0, and N0_, is an ox-



idizing form of air pollution.  The high ratio of NO to N0~



at the urban site indicates that the oxidation rate (to NO-)



with atmospheric oxygen is probably insignificant.





The 0-, - NO reaction can best be illustrated by looking at



the rural site (AERS roof) chart record for February 9,



1977, Figure 2.  Beginning at 0900 hours the temperature,



0, and NO  are at their undisturbed (background) levels of
 J       i\


-14°C, 0.028 ppm and 0.005 ppm.  At 0930 hours it is assumed



that an eddy draws some cooler, more polluted air up from



the parking areas surrounding the AERS building.  The air



temperature at .ground level is lower than on the roof - see



airport data on Figure 2.  This polluted air parcel is about



4°C cooler, and contains approximately 0.03 ppm NO which ac-



counts for the low, <0.01 ppm 0,.  The polluted (imported
                              41

-------
                                               -TIME
    Q800
O9OO
1000
1100
12OO
130O
t
1
-O.O6 ppm I
w 1
e •
S 1
X 0 |
.I1
c o ~
o i i:
-0.05 ppm O z z
-O.O4ppm(-lo°)
£
l^^C^^v
g. 1
-O.O3 ppm (-20°) O3
*••«* *.,
>
•0.02 ppm
•0.01 ppm
I
1
l| National Weather Service (NWS) Data
|| at Fairbanks International Airoort:
II
1 P Time Temperature Wind . Sky
i 1 1 °C Knots Cover %
\.\ I 0800 -19 0 80
I II lj
|M i| 1100 -17 0 100
J1 1 Ij 1400 -14 6 100
| lj| NWS Station is 5.2 Km. South of
{ »l AERS Roof.
\
i Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) ppm 	 _ i I
' Nitric Oxide (NO) ppm — - - . ___ n
^L^__^jj-^\^
MK^ ^ i A
. i ! ' i ; ',
1 i , / 1 / - I
i \/\,. 	 ,, ja\ i
' i-" /% *'. f\ ' ' /: :"
i ."•* i 1 ' %-' :• i; :j|; '•': *
1 .• i / •- T If v
i: -i ^' V* 1
h -;\ A /\ /*A
/ : ; \ / \ . ^ \ 1 j \
          f*"'''\j
      v^^NO	J
-O.OO
 Figure 2. Chart Record of Air Quality for the Rural Site (AERS Roof). February 9, 1977.
                                        42

-------
parcel) is then slowly diluted with 0, rich ambient air



which dilutes the NO , raises the temperature, and causes
                    A


a gradual rise in 0,.  Total 0, return to unpolluted levels



(0.028 ppm) is prevented by the now higher NO (remaining for



the polluted air parcel) which reduces it to 0^.  From 1000



to about 1300 about every peak in the NO curve creates a



corresponding flat or valley in the 0-, curve.  The essence



of Figure 2 is that natural ambient levels of 0, cannot



exist for any time period in concentrations of NO greater



than about 0.03 ppm.





In more temperate climates, 0, that is consumed by NO is



replenished by photochemical action - the same photochemical



action that is involved in photochemical smog.  The prere-



quisites for photochemical smog are warm (>25°C) tempera-



tures, insolation, and high concentrations of NO and reac-



tive hydrocarbons (HC).  Fortunately for Fairbanks, during



most of the summer, winds and insolation inhibit formation



of stable, long time (>24 hour) temperature inversions which



would allow high concentrations of NO  and HC.  The remote



possibility of photochemical smog in this northern city is



discussed in Section 7.





When discussing the health effects of NO and N0?,  NO,, is



considered to be about five times as toxic as NO (7).



Luckily, the low levels of 0, in the downtown area limits



formation of N0« from the emitted NO.  However, when the NO





                               43

-------
rich air drifts out of town and mixes with the cleaner 0,
rich air, it should be converted to the more  toxic N0~.  A
compensating factor to this apparently increasing toxicity
is the accompanying dilution  of the N0«.

In summary, a most surprising finding was the NO - 0,
relationship.  NO will readily react with 0,, but it is
hypothesized that the dirty (high  TSP) urban  air limits  the
available 0,.  Consequently,  the NO to NO  ratio was higher
            •s                             J\
at the urban site than at  the rural site.  Because of  a
higher 0, concentration  in rural air the ratio (NO/NO  )  is
         J                                            /\
expected to decrease downwind of the urban area.  The  am-
bient urban ratio of CO  to NO  was found to be about the
same  as  the mobile source  emission ratio.  Therefore,  the
internal combustion engine is the  major source of NO   in
                                                    /\
Fairbanks.  Also, the urban site atmosphere had winter
average  particulate levels exceeding 100 yg/m which con-
tained,  on  a monthly average, up to 6  ug/m  lead.
                              44

-------
                         SECTION 6






                  INDOOR - OUTDOOR LEVELS






The short term indoor-outdoor air quality study at the new




State Building yielded interesting results.  Readings on the



chart recorder for each CO analyzer were integrated to yield



1/2 hour CO averages for the major part of the working day




(1000 to 1600 hours).  Spanning the Ecolyzer (indoor CO) at



0900 and 1600 prohibited data collection before 1000 and



after 1600 hours.  The averages for January 16 through 18



and 22 through 25 are plotted on figure 3.






In all seven days, the indoor air heating ventilating unit



(HVU) had about the same or greater level of CO than did the



outside ambient air-  It appears from the data for the 16th



and 24th that, when the outside CO values averaged more than



8 ppm, the indoor CO values averaged more than 15 ppm.  On



the other hand, when both the indoor and outdoor CO values



were low, as on the 17th and 18th, they were about the same.



The combined maximum measurement inaccuracy of ±3 ppm CO




would not affect the basic interpretation.






The building HVU was designed to take in fresh makeup air




from the top of the building.  Air at the higher elevation





                              45

-------
                                                             — Indoor Mr, From Heating Ventilating Duct
                                                             -~ Outdoor Air, ADEC Monitor
                       I	I
                                   I    I    I   I
                                                      I    I
                                                             I
                                             I   ±   I
                                                                            I
                                                                                 M
                                                                                       V-rir
Hour
Date
[TO12
   1-16-79
10  12  Ik
  1-17-79
]G
10  i?  n
  1-18-79
TO   I?-   l>i  16
  1-22-7')
ID  12 n  Tel
  1-23-79
TO  i?.  IT?
  1-2*4-79
TO  12  14
  1-25-79
  Figure 3.  Carbon monoxide content of air (ppm, one-half hour average);  at  new  State  Building
             Fairbanks, Alaska.

-------
should contain less pollution than air at ground level




because of the greater distance from automobile exhaust




pipes.  But at times, as shown in figure 3, the air in the




building contains as much or more CO than outside ambient.



There could be many reasons for this, but orobably most of




the CO is from automotive cold starts in the parking garage



below the building.  Located in the lowest level of the




mechanical room is a large louvered fan assembly which ex-




hausts into the garage when the building pressure exceeds



atmospheric by a preset amount.  The louvers do not seal



tightly and during cold weather, considerable air from the




garage leaks through into .the mechanical room, which is also



the return air plenum for the HVU.  This leakage is probably



enhanced by the chimney effect (hot air rises) of the




building .






The NO  values are one hour averages from 0800 to 1800



hours.  The results are plotted in figures 4 and 5.  The



nitric oxide(NO) trend, figure 4,is considerably different



from the CO trend.  The outdoor NO levels are either higher




or about the same as the indoor levels.  This seems



reasonable, because automobiles in the cold start or near




idle mode emitt very little NO when compared to road speeds.



Cold start or near idle mode emissions are the only type of



emissions found in the garage.
                              47

-------
                                                        —  Indoor Air,  From Heating  Ventilating  Duct

                                                            Outdoor Air, ADEC Monitor
-P.
00
i.
c.
       O)
       X
      c

       u
      «r-

      •P
          0.8 -
   0.6
    0.4
          0.2
        Hour
        Date
             1216
           1-16-79
8  12   16
  1-17-79
8   12  16
  1-18-79
  12  16
1-22-79
8  12   16
  1-2L3-79
8   12  16
  1-24-79
B   12   1$
  1-2S-79
      Figure 4.  Nitric oxide content of air at new State  Building, Fairbanks, Alaska.

-------
IO
        a.
        0.
        
        en
        o

        -P
                                                                  Indoor Air, From Heating Ventilatinfl  Duct


                                                                  Outdoor Air, ADEC Monitor
         Hour

         Date
             2 ...
1-16-79
1-17-79
1-22.-7.9
1-23-79
1-24-79
  12   16

1-25T-7J
      Figure 5.  Nitrogen dioxide content of air at new State Buildinq,  Fairbanks, Alaska.

-------
The nitrogen dioxide (NO-) data, figure 5, follows the NO



trend.  The outdoor levels are higher than indoor levels.



It is interesting to note that the outdoor to indoor ratios



for N02 are generally higher than the same ratios for NO.



This is as expected because the HVU air filters remove most



of the 0, from the intake air, and without 0,, the oxidation



of indoor NO to N02 is  inhibited.
                               50

-------
                         SECTION 7






                 FAIRBANKS AIR QUALITY AND



             THE NATIONAL AIR QUALITY STANDARDS
WINTER AIR
The stagnant winter air over Fairbanks is not a problem




peculiar to Fairbanks because long lasting winter tempera-



ture inversions are not uncommon to all cold regions.  These



inversions inhibit vertical dispersion.  Horizontal disper-




sion is also inhibited because Fairbanks sits on a flood



plain surrounded by hills on the north and west which block




win te r winds .






Mobile source  emissions that accumulate in this stagnant air



are the major  source of air pollution in Fairbanks (19).



The concern over these pollutants is their possible adverse



effect on public health.  This concern on a national level



has resulted in the primary air quality standards.






AIR QUALITY STANDARDS






The primary air quality standards specify the maximum al-



lowable ambient concentration of the more common air pol-



lutants.  These standards were first published by EPA in the





                              51

-------
Federal Register on April 30, 1971 (20).  The following is

an excerpt from that publication:

"National primary ambient air quality standards are those
which in the judgement of the Administrator (of EPA), based
on the air quality criteria and allowing an adequate margin
of safety, are requisite to protect the public health."


Those standards as promulgated in 1971 have,except for ox-

idants,remained basically unchanged to this date (February

1979), although there has been considerable debate as to the

concentration of the pollutants where adverse health effects

first begin to appear.  A recent review by the Harvard

School of Public Health, on the health effects of the

regulated air pollutants (21) concludes (1) that the present

primary standards seem adequate to protect public health and

(2) until more data are available the standards should not

be changed.  A discussion of each pollutant's ambient con-

centration in relation to its regulated standard follows:
                                                       t,

The EPA ambient air quality standards do not apply to air

inside buildings.   In non-domestic buildings, the Oc-

cupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regula-

tions  apply.


CARBON MONOXIDE, PARTICIPATES, AND ICE FOG


The ice fog, carbon monoxide (CO) and Total Suspended Par-

ticulate  (TSP) problems are well known and will not.be

discussed here.  An EPA summary on CO and TSP is published
                              52

-------
in the Alaska Environmental Quality Profile (19).  More  up-

to-date CO data has been summarized by the Fairbanks North

Star Borough (22).  A monitoring program for these pol-

lutants is being carried out by the Fairbanks North Star

Borough, Department of Environmental Services and by the

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The air

quality standards for CO and T,SP have been exceeded in Fair-

banks in over 20 percent of all the daily readings (19).
                %
There is no air quality standard for ice fog.   Efforts are

being taken to reduce the levels of these three pollutants

by the state, borough and city (Fairbanks) governments.



SULFUR DIOXIDE



The sulfur dioxide (S0?) standard is 0.03 ppm maximum al-

lowable concentration for an annual arithmetic mean and/or

0.14 ppm for a 24 hour average.  During the sampling periods,

over 90 percent of the urban site daily average readings

were less than 0.005 ppm which is about 20 percent of the

standard.  Therefore, S07 was not found to be  an air quality

problem with the present emission sources.  During long cold

spells, ice fog can accumulate to a considerable depth.

When ice fog builds up deep enough to entrap the taller

power plant plumes, an increase in ambient S0? levels will

result.  But, based upon Holty's monitoring (2), that in-

creased level is still not expected to exceed the S0~ air

quality standard.
                             53

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NITROGEN OXIDES






The N0« standard is 0.05 ppm maximum allowable concentra-




tion, annual arithmetic mean.  Only the urban site data for



December 1976 has exceeded 0.05 ppm N02.  And several other




winter months have exceeded 0.02 ppm N0_.   This winter data




coupled with the fact that air is more turbulent during the




summer makes it doubtful that the annual mean would be ex-



ceeded in the near future .






In a recent report by the National Research Council (13),




it is stated that based upon animal studies the biological



toxicity of NO is much less than that of NQ_.  Also, NO and




N0« seldom occur separately so effects sometimes attributed



to either may actually be a combined effect.






As of February 1979,  there was no air quality standard for



NO.  But if there were, it would probably have come close




to being exceeded during the observation periods.  The



reason for that conjecture depends on the relative toxicity




ratio of 1 to 5 for NO to N02 as stated by  Stern (7).



Therefore, using the  1 to 5 ratio the 0.05  ppm standard for




N0? would be comparable to 0.25 ppm NO.  The urban monthly




averages were more than 50 percent of that  (0.25 ppm) for




November through February - both winters.   But because of




unstable air during the summer, it is doubtful if a NO con-



centration of 0.25 ppm as an annual arithmetic mean would
                               54

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be exceeded.  However, effects of a short term exposure may



be more significant.  NO and NO- are respiratory irritants,



the effect of which shows up with short term exposure to




high concentrations.  The necessity for a short term N0~



standard is recognized by many health effects



authorities (21).  The maximum one hour integrated high



value for NO was 1.8 ppm which is 7 times the extrapolated




conjectural standard.  Exposure to these peak values could



result in much more adverse health effects than longer term




exposures to lower concentrations.






MOBILE SOURCE EMISSION CONTROL EFFECTS






In Fairbanks mobile sources are major emitters of CO, NO,



and lead (Pb).  State implementation plans are being drafted



to control CO.  Some mobile source emission control efforts



can be counterproductive.  Techniques to reduce one pol-



lutant can increase emissions of the others.  Some CO con-



trol efforts may increase NO and Pb emissions.  For example,



use of leaner idle mixtures reduces automotive CO emissions,



but it also increases NO emissions.  In reducing the fuel



to air ratio to lower CO from 1 to 1/2 percent an increase




in exhaust NO of about 20 percent will result.






The present major automotive NO control technique, first



widely used in 1973, depends upon exhaust gas recirculation .



The exhaust gas recirculation system does not operate until
                              55

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the vehicle speed exceeds about 25 mph.  That average speed
is not reached in the Fairbanks urban area; hence there is
little NO control where it is really needed.  But there is
plenty of NO control in the rural areas where it is not as
badly needed .

Emissions during automotive cold starts are the major source
of the Fairbanks CO problem (23).  Allowing a vehicle to
continuously idle to eliminate  the large CO output from a
cold start will also increase the NO emissions.  Pb emis-
sions would also increase if leaded gasoline  (regular or
ethyl) is used.

LEAD

The recently adopted ambient air quality standard for Pb is
1.5 yg/m  maximum allowable three month average concentra-
tion  (24).  All five monthly average urban site samples
during the first winter exceeded this value.  The Pb levels
nearer the sidewalk, closer to  automobile exhaust pipes, are
higher than those measured 3 m  (9 ft) above the sidewalk
(High Volume sampler inlet level).  This is unfortunate
because children breathe  the air closer to the sidewalk.
The standard was proposed to protect children since Pb is
less  toxic to  adults.

OXIDANTS

The air quality standard  for oxidants, measured as
                              56

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ozone (0,) has recently been raised to 0.12 ppm maximum al-




lowable one hour concentration not to be exceeded more than




once per year (25).  This concentration was not exceeded in




any of the winter measurements.  However, during spring and



summer in arctic regions, naturally occurring stratospheric




downwelling and storm systems may cause the standard to be



exceeded (9 ) .






HYDROCARBONS






The HC standard is only a guide for air quality plans to



achieve the oxidant (0,) standard.  It is not required to




meet the HC standard if the 0, standard has not been ex-



ceeded.  The nonmethane hydrocarbon (HC) air quality stan-



dard is 0.24 ppm maximum three hour (6 to 9 a.m.) concentra-




tion.  Gasoline engine operation that emits high concentra-



tions of CO also emits high concentrations of HC.



Therefore, the HC standard has by association with CO,



probably been exceeded.  This is of little health sig-



nificance because most HC, at low concentrations (<10 ppm)




are nontoxic.






Both the 0-, and HC standard were devised to control



photochemical smog.  Photochemical smog is the eye smarting



form of air pollution for which the Los Angeles air basin



is so famous.  It has not yet been observed in most cold re-



gions, so the oxidant and HC standard have at present little




meaning.




                              57

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PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG






Whether or not photochemical smog could ever form in cold




regions is a subject of debate.  All that is needed is high




NO  and HC levels, warm air and strong sunshine.  A study
  /\



entitled, "The Effect of Latitude on the Potential for For-




mation of Photochemical Smog"  (26) shows it to be possible




during warm  (>25°C) , sunny, summer days with considerable




HC and NO emissions.






Any petroleum related industrial development would probably




be plants using  HC for fuel and feedstock.  These industries




will  increase the area wide emissions of S07,  HC and NO.




Also,  the continued  influx  of  automobiles into this




developing area, which may  be  accelerated by industrial




development, will increase  HC  and NO emissions.  The resul-




tant  increased level of emissions increases the probability




of a  summer  time photochemical  air pollution problem in




Fairbanks.   This photochemical  smog could have a much more




adverse health effect than  smoke from forest fires which are




fairly common during dry summers.  Smoke that  inundatesthe




urban  areas  from forest fires  is irritating enough.









SECTION SUMMARY






To summarize this section,  it  can be said that most air pol-




lution in Fairbanks  is caused  by internal combustion
                              58

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(gasoline) engines.  The ambient levels of CO, NO, and Pb




are very high during the winter months.  The CO standard and




the proposed Pb standard have been exceeded routinely in the




winter months.  There is no NO standard.  The oxidant and




HC standard have, to date, little meaning' because




photochemical smog has not appeared in Fairbanks.  However,



future increases in HC and NO emissions will increase the



potential for photochemical smog.  S0? levels, primarily




from stationary sources, were very low - less than 20 per-



cent of the air quality standard.
                             59

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                        REFERENCES

 1.   Benson, C. S.   Ice Fog Low Temperature Air Pollution.
     RR 121, U. S.  Army Cold Regions Research and
     Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire,
     June 1970.  118 pp.

 2.   Holty, J. G. Air Quality in a Subarctic Community:
     Fairbanks, Alaska.  Arctic.  Journal of the Arctic In-
     stitute of North America, ^6_,4 : 292-302 , Dec. 1973.

 3.   Ohtake, T.  Studies on Ice Fog. APTD-0626 U. S. En-
     vironmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle  PaTfk,
     North Carolina, July 1971.  177 pp.

 4.   Jenkins, T. F., R. P. Murrmann, and B. E. Brockett.
     Accumulation of Atmospheric Pollutants Near Fairbanks,
     Alaska During Winter.  SR 225, U. S. Army Cold Regions
     Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New
     Hampshire, April 1975.  27 pp.

 5.   Winchester, 3. W., W. H. Zoller, R. A. Duce , and C. S.
     Benson.  Lead and Halogens in Pollution Aerosols and
     Snow from Fairbanks, Alaska.  Atmospheric Environment
     (1):105-119, 1967.

 6.   Latham, 3. L.  Elementary Reaction Kinetics.  Butter-
     worth and Co. Ltd., London, England, 1964.  120 pp.

 7.   Stern, A. C., editor.  Air Pollution, Vol. I Air Pol-
     lution and Its Effects, Academic Press, New York, New
     York, 1968.  694 pp.

 8.   Human Studies Laboratory.  Health Consequences of Sul-
     fur Oxides:  A Report from CHESS, 1970-71.
     EPA-650/1-74-004, U. S. Environmental Protection Agen-
     cy, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 1974.
     368 pp.

 9.   Wilson, W. S., W. B. Guenther, R. D. Lowery and 3. C.
     Cain.  Surface Ozone at College, Alaska for the year
     1950.  Transactions Am. Geophysical Union 3:361-364,
     1952.

10.   Geophysical Monitoring for Climatic Change No. 3 Sum-
     mary Report 1974.  U. S. Dept. of Commerce National

                             60

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     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder,
     Colorado, Aug 1975.  107 pp.

11.  Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastes.
     EPA-625-/6-74-003.  U. S. Environmental Protection
     Agency, National Environmental Research Center, Cin-
     cinnati, Ohio, 1974.  298 pp.

12.  Turner, D. B.  Workbook of Atmospheric Dispersion
     Estimates, AP-26, U. S. Environmental' Protection Agen-
     cy, Office of Air Programs, Research Triangle Park,
     North Carolina, 1970.  84 pp.

13.  National Academy of Sciences.  Nitrogen Oxides,
     EPA-600/1-77-013 U. S. Environmental Protection Agen-
     cy, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 1977.
     495 pp.

14.  Bowling, S. A. and C. S. Benson.  Study of the Subarc-
     tic Heat Island at Fairbanks, Alaska.
     EPA-600/4-78-027, U. S. Environmental Protection Agen-
     cy, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 1978.
     150 pp.

15.  Sandberg, T. S., D. A. Levaggo. R. E. DeMandel, and W.
     Siu.  Sulfate and Nitrate Particulates as Related to
     S0? and NO  Gases and Emissions.  Journal of the Air
     Pollution Control Association 26 , 6:559-564, June
     1976.

16.  Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors, AP-42.
     U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research
     Triangle Park, North Carolina, April 1973.

17.  Ostrouchov , N.  Effect of Cold Weather on Motor
     Vehicle Emissions and Fuel Economy.   Technical Paper
     780084, Society of Automotive Engineers, 1978.  14 pp.

18.  Meserole , F. B., K. Schwitzgebel , B. F. Jones, C. M.
     Thompson and F. G. Mesich.  Sulfur Dioxide Inter-
     ferences in the Measurement of Ambient Particulate
     Sulfates.  Prepared by Radian Corp.  for Electric Power
     Research Institute, Palo Alto, California, 1976.
     48 pp.

19.  Environmental Quality Profile, 1976  Technical Supple-
     ment.  EPA-910/9-76-026A, U. S. Environmental Protec-
     tion Agency, Region X, Seattle, Washington, 1976.
     21 pp.

20.  U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Part 410
     National Primary and Secondary Ambient Air Quality
     Standards, Federal Register 36(84),  Friday, April 30,
     1971.  pp. 8186 - 8201.
                             61

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21.  Ferris, B. J.  Health Effects of Exposure .to Low
     Levels of Regulated Air Pollutants, A Critical Review.
     Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association,  28,
     5:482-497, May 1978.

22.  Joy, Richard.  Carbon Monoxide  Levels in . Fairbanks ,
     Alaska, Winter 1977-78, Fairbanks  North  Star Borough,
     Department of Environmental  Services, April 1978.
     7 pp .

23.  Leonard,  L.  E.  Cold  Start  Automotive Emissions in
     Fairbanks, Alaska.  UAG R-239,  Geophysical  Institute,
     University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, 1975.  44 pp.

24.  U.  S.  Environmental Protection  Agency.   National
     Primary Ambient Air Quality  Standards for  Lead.
     Federal Register  43(194),  October  5, 1978.

25.  EPA  Environmental  News.   EPA Announces  New  Ozone  Stan-
     dard.   U.  S.  Environmental  Protection Agency,  Re-
     gion 7, Kansas City,  Missouri,  Friday,  January 26,
     1979.

26.  Nieboer,  H.,  W. P.  L. Carter,  A. C.  Lloyd,  and J.  N.
     Pitts,  Jr.   The Effect  of  Latitude on the  Potential
     for  Formation of  Photochemical  Smog.  Atmospheric  En-
     vironment 10:731-734, 1976.
                              62

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                                   TECHNICAL REPORT DATA
                            (Please read Instructions on the reverse before completing}
1. REPORT NO.
                                                           3. RECIPIENT'S ACCESSION-NO.
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE
             5. REPORT DATE        	-•
              September 1979 issuing date
                                                           6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE
  A STUDY OF WINTER AIR POLLUTANTS AT FAIRBANKS, ALASKA
7. AUTHOR(S)

  HAROLD J. COUTTS
                                                           8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NO.
 ). PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS
  U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency
  Arctic Environmental Research Station
  College, Alaska 99701
                                                           10. PROGRAM ELEMENT NO.
             11. CONTRACT/GRANT NO.
 12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS
  Environmental Research  Laboratory-Corvallis,,
  Office of Research  and  Development
  Environmental Protection Agency
  Corvallis, Oreaon   97330
             13. TYPE OF REPORT AND PERIOD COVERED
                Final   1976 through  1979
             14. SPONSORING AGENCY CODE
                EPA/600/02
15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
16. ABSTRACT
 An air  pollution monitoring program was  initiated by the Arctic Environmental  Research
 Station (AERS).   Ambient monitoring was  done throughout the winters  of  76-77  and
 77-78 at the Fairbanks Post Office and on  the AERS roof.  Indoor-outdoor  monitoring
 was done at the  new State Building during  January 1979.  Pollutants  measured  were
 nitric  oxide (NO),  nitrogen dioxide (N02),  ozone (03), sulfur dioxide (S02),  total
 suspended particulates (TSP), sulfate  (S0|), nitrate (NOs), lead  (Pb) and carbon
 monoxide (CO).

 High values,  compared to those measured  in  the contiguous states, were  found  for NO
 and Pb.   Most SOg levels were below the  analyzer sensitivity of 0.004 ppm.  The health
 effects of the measured levels of NO are not known,  but Pb levels exceeded  EPA stand-
 ards.   More monitoring for Pb is needed  and, if the  high concentrations are found
 to be area wide,  then local authorities  may want to  consider restrictions on  use of
 leaded  gasoline  during the winter months.

 The garage under the new State Building  with attendant air infiltration appeared
 to be responsible for higher indoor than outdoor CO  levels.
17.
                                KEY WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
                  DESCRIPTORS
b.lDENTIFIERS/OPEN ENDED TERMS  C. COS AT I Field/Group
 Air pollution
 Arctic air  pollution
 Winter air  pollution monitoring
 Indoor-outdoor air  quality
Cold Regions air  pollutior
         13/B
         08/F,L
18. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT


    Release to Public
19. SECURITY CLASS (ThisReport)
  Unclassified
21. NO. OF PAGES

    71
20. SECURITY CLASS (This page)

  Unclassified
                                                                        22. PRICE
EPA Form 2220-1 (9-73)
                                            63

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