Environrm
oratory
Triangle Park NC 27711
tn
Program
Combustion
sment
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT: This publica-
tion was prepared for EPA's In-
dustrial Environmental Research
Laboratory in Research Triangle
Park, North Carolina, by Northrop
Services, Inc.
NOTICE: Mention of trade names or
commercial products does not con-
stitute endorsement or recom-
mendation for use by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
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WHAT IS CCEA?
CCEA is Conventional Combustion
Environmental Assessment: A new
program aimed at assessing the
environmental, health, economic,
and energy impacts of air, water,
and solid waste pollution from
stationary conventional combustion
processes. Initiated by the U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory (IERL-RTP) in
Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina, CCEA assesses the im-
pacts of emissions from industrial,
utility, residential, and commercial
combustion processes.
Begun in February 1977, the CCEA
program has several functions:
Coordinating CCEA research
and development projects to
reduce duplication of effort and
to increase the return from
available resources
Compiling a CCEA information
base
Using this information to
develop an overall picture of the
harmful health and environ-
mental effects of combustion-
related emissions
Providing CCEA activity reports
and information transfer
Four ongoing IERL-RTP projects are
included in the CCEA program:
Characterization of emissions
from conventional combustion
processes
Environmental assessment of
combustion modification
for NOX control
Environmental assessment of
residual oil processing
Environmental assessment of
liquid and solid waste streams
from combustion processes and
control technologies
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WHAT WILL CCEADO?
The purpose of the CCEA program is
to provide the data and information
needed to define the requirements
for standards and control tech-
nologies. The CCEA program will not
develop or promote combustion
processes, nor will it develop or
promote emission control tech-
nologies. The CCEA program will:
Determine the extent to which
available information can be
used to assess the total environ-
mental, economic, and energy
impacts of conventional com-
bustion processes
Identify and acquire additional
information needed for
assessment
Define the requirements for
modifying present control tech-
nologies or for developing new
control technologies
Define the requirements for
modifying existing pollution
standards or for developing new
standards to regulate pollutant
emissions
The information and data identified
and evaluated by these activities will
provide energy and environmental
decision-makers a basis for:
Setting standards.
Developing control
technologies.
Formulating policies, and
Allocating resources
to ensure that expanding use of
conventional combustion processes
will not result in unnecessary harm-
ful effects to human health, the
ecology, and the general environ-
ment.
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WHY IS CCEA NEEDED?
Conventional combustion processes
provide most of the energy used in
the United States today by indus-
tries, utilities, businesses, and
homes. Emissions from these
processes cause air pollution, water
contamination, and land degrada-
tion. These environmental impacts
pose serious threats to human
health.
EPA and other concerned organiza-
tions have been studying the
environmental problems of combus-
tion for a number of years. Typically,
these studies have had very specific
objectives. In other words, they have
identified emissions from selected
processes, examined the health and
environmental effects of a specific
compound, or developed the
technology to control specific air,
water, or solid waste pollutants. The
impacts of combustion-related
pollutants, however, are not
separate and distinct. A single air
pollutant may react in the atmo-
sphere to form other compounds
that may be as harmful as the
original compound. The air pollutant
may react with moisture in the
atmosphere, fall to earth in rain,
contaminate water supplies, or in
other ways damage the environ-
ment. Potentially, human health
can be affected by any. or all of the
various forms that this pollutant can
have in the environment.
Very few, if any, studies to date have
attempted a comprehensive
examination of the total impact of
pollutant emissions from conven-
tional combustion processes.
Coordination and information ex-
change between efforts have also
been lacking. The CCEA program
will fill these gaps by providing a
systematic, coordinated structure
that ties together the separate data
generated by past and ongoing work
to provide a comprehensive environ-
mental assessment of conventional
combustion processes.
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HOW WILL CCEA WORK?
The CCEA program was developed
by expanding a previously estab-
lished definition of environmental
assessment of fossil fuel-fired com-
bustion processes. This definition,
derived by IERL-RTP describes an
environmental assessment as an
iterative study to develop a basis for
ranking environmental problems
and control needs by:
Determining comprehensive
environmental effects and con-
trol costs by applying sets of
control or disposal options to
particular sources, processes, or
industries, and
Comparing these effects with
existing standards, estimated
environmental goals, and antic-
ipated health impacts.
The CCEA program extends this def-
inition to include the identification
and assessment of the full range of
health, ecological, and environ-
mental effects. Thus, consideration
is also given to socio-economic and
institutional effects, and cross-
media impacts and trade-offs.
CCEA is carried out simultaneously
with technology development to
identify and evaluate the full range
of impacts of combustion processes
and/or control technologies on the
environment.
The nucleus of the CCEA program is
a comprehensive CCEA method-
ology that allows more than 200
different types of information to be
systematically identified, evaluated,
and compiled. This methodology is
designed to provide an expanding
information base that can be used to
respond to a vast array of questions:
What air, water, and/or solid
waste pollution results from
combustion processes and
associated control technol-
ogies?
What are the health effects of
these combustion process
emissions?
What effects do the emissions
have on the ecology? On air,
land, and water quality?
What laws exist to control the
pollutant?
What are the emission or am-
bient level goals for the pollu-
tant?
How much of the pollutant
already exists in the atmo-
sphere?
What environmental goals and
objectives exist or should be
developed for the pollutant?
Are these goals currently being
met?
What is the total estimated
impact of this pollutant?
How critical (in terms of quantity
and severity) is this impact?
What control options are
available?
Are available controls adequate
to meet the environmental goals
and objectives?
The CCEA methodology responds to
the CCEA goals and provides input
to a detailed procedure to analyze
and compare the programmatic
contents of CCEA-related research
and development projects.
The CCEA methodology consists of
five* basic steps:
Characterize combustion
process and emissions
Identify health and ecological
effects
Develop environmental goals
and objectives
Quantify the total pollutant im-
pact
Evaluate control alternatives
Application of the CCEA method-
ology and of the analysis procedure
yields findings that provide a basis
for establishment of standards,
development of control technology,
policy formulation, and resource
allocation.
"The CCEA methodology is described alternately
in other publications as a three step procedure.
The five steps presented here are equivalent and
do not imply change in the methodology.
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STEP1
The first step in CCEA is to identify
and define the potential pollutants
emitted by the stationary conven-
tional combustion process. This step
involves examination of both the
combustion process and associated
emissions. CCEA has established
five separate categories to provide
the data required for this essential
first step:
Process Technology
Characterization — provides
detailed technical and opera-
tional information on the
conventional combustion
process
Fuels Characterization — de-
scribes the fuel type, source,
physical form, energy content,
availability, methods of delivery
and storage, chemical composi-
tion, and potential pollutants.
Input/Output Characterization
— establishes the relationships
among the process variables so
that potential pollutant loadings
can be calculated
Standard Sampling and Analysis
Techniques — ensure consistent
and reliable results for com-
parison of data obtained by
various investigators
Field Tests and Surveys — quan-
tify and characterize the
effluents using standard sampl-
ing and analysis techniques
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STEP 2
The second step in CCEA is the
identification of the health and
ecological impacts of the potential
pollutants identified in Step 1. This
step involves detailed ana lysisof the
environmental response and the
state of health of the population
exposed to a pollutant. Five areas of
investigation provide input to this
step:
Ecological Impacts Data — es-
tablish ecology-related impacts
(including the effects on air,
water, and land quality) and
quantify the total ecological
degradation
Dose-Response Data — allow
translation of environmental
pollution concentrations into
estimates of the number and
types of specific biological im-
pacts (e.g. respiratory disease or
cancer) to be expected in the
exposed population
Pollutant Transport,
Transformation, and Fate
Models — provide estimates of
pollutant concentrations and
exposure levels and include
meteorological, hydrological,
and pollutant transforma-
tion/reactivity data
Bioassay Data — identify the
effects of varying concen-
trations of pollutants on living
organisms
Epidemiological Data — are
developed from occupational
exposure-related health in-
formation and serve as impor-
tant indicators of potential
adverse pollutant impacts
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Environmental goals and objectives
are developed in Step 3. These goals
and objectives are standards of
acceptability that are based on a
variety of interrelated factors:
Statutory Constraints — include
all existing Federal and State
standards and regulations
pertaining to air. water, and land
quality, including the National
Primary and Secondary Air
Quality Standards, State
Implementation Plans, New
Stationary Source Performance
Standards, and National Interim
Drinking Water Regulations
Emission or Ambient Level
Goals — are based on control
technology capabilities to limit
emissions or on ambient factors
that reflect the health and
ecological impacts of the
pollutant
Social/Economic/Political/ln-
stitutional Considerations —
include a variety of quantitative
and qualitative data such as the
impact of the combustion
process on land and water,
energy use patterns,
social/cultural patterns,
regional and national economy,
aesthetics, siting criteria, and
critical materials impacts
Ambient Pollutant Levels — are
determined by extensive data
collection and evaluation and are
considered in setting such
environmental goals as "no
significant deterioration"
IERL-RTP has established a format
for evaluating this information in
order to develop measures of
acceptability for each pollutant.
These measures of acceptability are
known as Multimedia Environ-
mental Goals (MEG's). About 650
compounds are currently on the
MEG list. CCEA explores all of the
MEG compounds as well as com-
pounds not on the MEG list.
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ARE GOALS MET?
ARE GOALS MET?
Once Step 3 has been completed,
the health and ecological impacts
identified in Step 2 are compared
with the goals and objectives
developed in Step 3. If the health
and ecological impacts are:
ACCEPTABLE - the CCEA is
complete
QUESTIONABLE - the data
base is refined and/or reeval-
uated
UNACCEPTABLE - the
magnitude of the impacts is
established in Step 4
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STEP 4
The potential harm to be expected
from the identified combustion-
related pollution must be quantified
in order to be useful. Step 4 develops
data and severity indices used to
establish Pollutant Priority Rankings
that aid in establishing standards or
control needs. CCEA assesses the
magnitude of pollution impacts by
analyzing the following categories
of data:
Combustion Process Use
Projections — determine the
current and projected number
and distribution of the combus-
tion process and provide infor-
mation for total pollutant load
calculations
Synergistic and Multimedia Im-
pacts — identify potential im-
pacts beyond the initial impact
(for example, water or land
contamination from air pollu-
tion)
Total Pollutant Load Calcula-
tions — determine the amount of
the identified pollutant that is
expected to occur in the atmos-
phere both naturally and as a
result of man-made sources,
including the combustion
process
Regional Geographic Data —
include regional population
growth projections, local
hydrology, and local meteor-
ology
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STEPS
Step 5 of CCEA is identification and
evaluation of the alternative
methods available to reduce the
identified deleterious environ-
mental impacts. This Step permits
selection and implementation of the
best control strategy. Heavily depen-
dent on the results of Steps 1 - 4,
this Step requires consideration of a
variety of information:
Control Alternatives — include
existing control technologies
and technologies expected to be
available in the near future, as
well as other options such as
combustion modification and
fuel switching/mixing
Control Strategy Environmental
Impacts — are evaluated to
identify any environmental
problems associated with a
control technology
Control Strategy Evaluation —
determines the best pollution
control alternative for a par-
ticular pollutant, emission
stream, or combustion process,
and includes consideration of
removal efficiencies, avail-
ability, economics, and any
energy penalties
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HOW WAS CCEA DEVELOPED?
In order to develop the CCEA
program, IERL-RTP devised an
approach that consisted of eight
discrete tasks:
Develop goals and objectives for
unified CCEA program
Review existing IERL-RTP
CCEA studies
Identify and evaluate related
studies by other organizations
Separate relevant activities of
existing studies into environ-
mental assessment functional
categories
Recombine relevant study ac-
tivities within environmental
assessment categories
Maintain current information
base
Evaluate the integrated existing
CCEA effort
Develop the unified CCEA
program plan
More than 500 ongoing and recently
completed CCEA-related studies
were identified within EPA, other
Government agencies, and non-
profit organizations. Due to the large
number of studies, a manageable
set of 13 "core" studies was initially
integrated into the unified CCEA to
demonstrate the methodology.
Examination and separation of this
"core" set was performed with the
aid of an information checklist
outlining the major elements of the
CCEA program. A code correspond-
ing to the elements of CCEA was de-
veloped and applied to the informa-
tion checklist. Information from
each of the selected studies was
then coded to complete a CCEA
program matrix. Other studies will
be integrated into the matrix as re-
sources become available.
The CCEA planning effort is essen-
tially complete and has yielded four
major products:
An initial set of CCEA program
goals and objectives
The CCEA methodology
Detailed analytical procedures
for identifying, evaluating, and
integrating detailed information
from pertinent research and
development projects
A set of recommendations for
implementing and managing the
CCEA program
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JEA?
The CCEA program will yield com-
prehensive information on the im-
pacts of combustion processes and
associated control technologies.
These data will provide valuable
input to technological and mana-
gerial decision-makers for con-
sideration in policy decisions, stan-
dards setting, and evaluation of
research and development needs.
Recommendations for standards
and control technology modifica-
tions and/or development are the
major result of CCEA.
STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS are
made when impacts of combus-
tion process emissions are de-
termined to be harmful to human
health or the environment and
no government standards exist
to control these impacts. The
recommendations for stan-
dards, ranked in order of priority
and justified by specific data,
include information on the
amount of control desirable and
a time-frame for promulgation
CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT RECOMMEN-
DATIONS are made when
available control methods are
inadequate. These
recommendations are also
ranked in order of priority and
are justified by engineering and
environmental data. Control
technology development recom-
mendations are accompanied by
specific information on the
amount of control required and
on developmental require-
ments, costs, and schedules
In addition to these recommenda-
tions, CCEA provides other outputs
that accompany the achievement of
intermediate objectives or that fill
the need for information transfer.
Such outputs include:
Comprehensive information
bases on CCEA-related research
and development efforts
CCEA reports
Symposia
A combustion-related samples
archive
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lERL-RTP'S CCEA PROGRAM IS
A unified approach to solving the
pollution problems that accompany
our dependence on conventional
combustion processes.
A coordinated effort that examines
the air, water, and solid waste
impacts of combustion processes.
An attempt to protect our health and
our air, water, land resources from
combustion pollutants while con-
sidering the energy and economic
costs of protection.
If you would like additional informa-
tion on the CCEA program, please
contact:
Utilities and Industrial Power Division
Industrial Environment Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711
Attn: Warren D. Peters
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