Energy Department Expands Air Monitoring Efforts
EarthVision Environmental News
September 11, 2000
WASHINGTON, September 11, 2000 - In an effort to assist the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state agencies and the energy industry in gauging the level and sources of microscopic airborne particles that are now regulated under new federal air quality standards, the Energy Department is expanding its efforts to collect data on the tiny particles in the US South.
The Energy Department announced it is advancing this effort by awarding a $750,000 contract to Southern Research Institute (SRI) of Birmingham, Alabama to augment an air monitoring station in Alabama with new capabilities to study fine particulate matter called PM2.5. The term stands for particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers, or about 1/30th the width of a human hair.
The Energy Department's funding will enable SRI to augment an existing site, operated by the Jefferson County Health Department in North Birmingham. When the new equipment is installed at the North Birmingham station, researchers will be able to monitor particle size distribution (0.2 to 10 microns), organic and elemental carbon, ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate levels. In addition, the researchers will use a detailed database of near-continuous measurements to support subsequent studies that locate emission sources, time/transport properties, and management strategies for fine particulate emissions in the region.
According to the Energy Department's news release on the contract award, analysis of PM2.5 concentrations had focused only on the Ohio River basin. Locating additional monitoring equipment in the deep South will fill an important gap in the national particulate monitoring effort says the Department. The region is important because its topography, weather patterns, and variety of emission sources may affect the chemical make-up and airborne transport of fine particles in ways that are different than in other parts of the country.
PM2.5 was identified when EPA revised the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in 1997. Previously, emissions of larger diameter particles had been regulated, but the new standards focused on much smaller particles that have been linked to respiratory ills, regional haze and other problems. The new standards ultimately could require state government to put into place compliance plans for reducing the release of these particles.
The sources of PM2.5 greatly vary according to the government - from coal-burning power plants, industrial factories, automobiles, agricultural practices and even forest fires. However, unlike most other air pollutants, PM2.5 particles typically consist of hundreds of chemical compounds. In addition, much of the particles are formed from atmospheric reactions between various gases. Therefore, to identify sources of PM2.5 according to specific components, both the mass and composition of the tiny particles must be measured, along with the concentrations of precursor gases and other co-pollutants.