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CLEAN AIR RESEARCH
PROGRAM
EPA ADVANCES TECHNOLOGY TO MORE EFFECTIVELY
MEASURE AIR POLLUTION SOURCES
Issue:
Technological advances in
measurement methods provide
state-of-the-art capabilities to
support both the research and
outdoor (ambient) monitoring
needed to protect public health
and the environment.
New methodologies developed by
the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency enable air
quality managers and regulators
to measure pollutants in the air
we breathe in real time; track
pollutants as they move across
continents and oceans using
global positioning technology;
and detect diffuse sources such as
pollutants from landfills and
wastewater lagoons.
Research is needed to improve
the detection limits, response-
time, and versatility of existing
measurement technologies. For
example, most standard methods
approved by EPA for detecting
emissions of air pollutants
provide accurate results, but they
do not provide real-time data. The
data are integrated over a period
of measurement that may be
hours or days old. Relating these
data to rapidly changing pollutant
levels, emission profile changes,
or short- term health outcomes is
difficult and complex.
In addition, the lack of real-time
information prevents process-
control adjustments to emission
and exhaust systems that might
improve efficiency and reduce
pollution.
Science Objective:
The Clean Air Research Program
in EPA's Office of Research and
Development (ORD) strives to
advance emission and air
measurement and monitoring
technologies as well as improve
emissions control or prevention
capabilities. ORD's research
addresses both technology and
methodologies that enhance
sensitivity and selectivity for the
many types of particulate and
gaseous materials that end up in
the air.
In recent years, technological
advances have produced real-time
(or near real-time) emission-
detection methods and
instrumentation that are highly
accurate and yield improved
datasets for use in various
assessments. The field application
of these technologies ranges from
point sources, such as
smokestacks, to non-point
(diffuse) sources, such as
industrial leaks and animal farm
waste lagoons.
Among these advanced methods
are both instruments and analysis
systems, For example:
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continued f-omjront
• Jet Resonance Enhanced Multi-
Photon lonization-Time-of-
Flight Mass Spectrometry (Jet
REMPI-TOFMS), developed in
collaboration with SRI
International. This instrument
allows for real-time and highly
accurate measurements of
individual particles and their
composition.
• Geospatial Monitoring of Air
Pollution (GMAP). This
mobile monitoring capability
uses networked fast-response
instruments and a precise
global positioning system to
yield a map of air pollution
patterns surrounding a source.
• An area source measurement
method, called OTM 10, uses
Vertical Radial Plume Mapping
(VRPM) and Horizontal Radial
Plume Mapping (HRPM) for
rapid analysis of optical
measurements of emissions
from non-point sources.
Application and Impact:
Measurement technologies
developed by EPA scientists offer
air quality managers and risk
assessors more reliable and useful
tools to control and prevent air
pollution. The methods noted
above (Jet REMPI-TOFMS and
OTM 10) have significantly
advanced the control of air
pollution sources. They have:
• Supported the development of
more advanced and efficient
combustion systems
• Improved the ability to
characterize sources of air
pollution, including non-point
sources
• Improved air quality models
and emissions inventories
Jet REMPI-TOFMS has been
used to measure the exhaust gas
streams of several on-site
combustion systems, including a
municipal waste incinerator and
specialized mobile vehicles used
by the U.S. Department of
Defense. The technology has
been applied to identify air toxics
associated with diesel generators,
aircraft turbines, and industrial
boilers.
The technology has also proven
to be an exceptional instrument
for studies to determine sources
of air toxics from roadway
vehicles and is being used in
EPA's studies on air pollution
near roadways. Likewise, the new
GMAP program has been used in
a number of field studies to assess
air pollution spatial patterns in
close proximity to major
roadways.
The EPA method OTM 10 has
similarly been used successfully
for numerous monitoring efforts,
including:
• Emissions from landfills
• Animal feeding operations,
industrial facilities
• Highways
• Agricultural fields sprayed with
biosolids as fertilizer
• Contaminated site remediation
• Homeland security research
New measurement technologies
help to protect human health and
the environment by providing the
data required to develop and
implement sound pollution
control strategies.
CONTACT
Carlos Nunez, National Risk Management
Research Laboratory, EPA's Office of Research
and Development, 919- 541-1156,
nunez. carlos@epa. gov
MARCH 2009
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
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