Particulate matter standards

Fact Sheet - EPA s Recommended Final Ozone and Particulate Matter Standards, http //www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/naasqsfin/o3pni.htnil, June 25, 1997. 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (1997). EPA s Revised Particulate Matter Standards. Pact Sheet (July). Washington, DC U.S. Government Printing Office. Utility Data Institute. (1995). UDI Sees Electricity Demand Surging with Global Economy. Wind Energy Weekly o. 648 (May 29). 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in the December 13, 1996 Federal Register (vo. 61, no. 241, pp. 65763-65778) proposed new ozone and particulate matter air quality standards. The O, standard would be changed to 0.08 ppm over an 8-hour averaging time. The revised particulate matter standard is directed toward particles of diameter 2.5 /u,m, denoted PMj s, and would be set at 15 /u,g m, annual mean, and. 50 24-hour average. 

Particulate matter standards were first introduced in the US in 1971. In 1987, the indicator of the standards was changed from TSP to PMiq. In 2006, it was decided to retain the existing 24-h PMio standard of 150 pg m and, due to a lack of evidence linking health effects to long-term exposure to coarse particle pollution , the annual PMio standard of 50 pg m was revoked (USEPA 2006). 

Figure 1 presents the 24-h mean PMio standards currently adopted by various countries. It should be noted that some countries like China and India specify different standards for industrial, urban and rural areas and also for sensitive areas that require speeial protection. The values shown in the chart for China refer to typical urban and rural areas . Several other countries that are not shown in the chart use indicators based on total particulate matter (TPM) or TSP and not PMio-While the adoption of particulate matter standards by developing nations is to be encouraged, it is also important to ensure that the resources and facilities to make the required measurements are available. 

The USEPA is in the process of revising the particulate matter standards, with one of the proposals being the introduction of a coarse particle standard for particulate matter between 2.5 and 10 pm (USEPA 2008b). This process and schedule of this review is based on two key components in the national ambient air quality... 

Wolff GT. The scientific basis for a particulate matter standard. Environ Manager... 

Some solid materials are very intractable to analysis by standard methods and cannot be easily vaporized or dissolved in common solvents. Glass, bone, dried paint, and archaeological samples are common examples. These materials would now be examined by laser ablation, a technique that produces an aerosol of particulate matter. The laser can be used in its defocused mode for surface profiling or in its focused mode for depth profiling. Interestingly, lasers can be used to vaporize even thermally labile materials through use of the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) method variant. 

Environmental Aspects. Airborne particulate matter (187) and aerosol (188) samples from around the world have been found to contain a variety of organic monocarboxyhc and dicarboxyhc acids, including adipic acid. Traces of the acid found ia southern California air were related both to automobile exhaust emission (189) and, iadirecfly, to cyclohexene as a secondary aerosol precursor (via ozonolysis) (190). Dibasic acids (eg, succinic acid) have been found even ia such unlikely sources as the Murchison meteorite (191). PubHc health standards for adipic acid contamination of reservoir waters were evaluated with respect to toxicity, odor, taste, transparency, foam, and other criteria (192). BiodegradabiUty of adipic acid solutions was also evaluated with respect to BOD/theoretical oxygen demand ratio, rate, lag time, and other factors (193). 

Other Emissions. Tide 3 of the CAAA also impacts power plant particulate matter (ash) emissions. In June of 1994, the EPA actually relaxed its standards for emissions of particulate smaller than 10 micrometers (PMIO). This revision was in response to the EPA s mandate to review health-based poUution standards every dve years (12). However, it is uncertain as of this writing (1996) if states will indeed implement less stringent regulations for PMIO emissions. 

U. S. EPA Regulations on Standards ofPeformanceforNeir Stationay Sources, 40 CER 60, Appendix A, Reference Methods, Washington, D.C., 1993. ASTM D3685-92, Standard Test Methodfor Sampling and Determination of Particulate Matter in Stack Gases, American Society for Testing Materials, Philadelphia, Pa., 1992. 

When a liquid or solid substance is emitted to the air as particulate matter, its properties and effects may be changed. As a substance is broken up into smaller and smaller particles, more of its surface area is exposed to the air. Under these circumstances, the substance, whatever its chemical composition, tends to combine physically or chemically with other particles or gases in the atmosphere. The resulting combinations are frequently unpredictable. Very small aerosol particles (from 0.001 to 0.1 Im) can act as condensation nuclei to facilitate the condensation of water vapor, thus promoting the formation of fog and ground mist. Particles less than 2 or 3 [Lm in size (about half by weight of the particles suspended in urban air) can penetrate the mucous membrane and attract and convey harmful chemicals such as sulfur dioxide. In order to address the special concerns related to the effects of very fine, iuhalable particulates, EPA replaced its ambient air standards for total suspended particulates (TSP) with standards for particlute matter less than 10 [Lm in size (PM, ). 

Because a filter sample includes particles both larger and smaller than those retained in the human respiratory system (see Chapter 7, Section III), other types of samplers are used which allow measurement of the size ranges of particles retained in the respiratory system. Some of these are called dichotomous samplers because they allow separate measurement of the respirable and nonrespirable fractions of the total. Size-selective samplers rely on impactors, miniature cyclones, and other means. The United States has selected the size fraction below an aerodynamic diameter of 10 /xm (PMiq) for compliance with the air quality standard for airborne particulate matter. 

Explain why stringent emission standards for particulate matter based on mass/heat input will do little to improve visual air quality. 

The three major characteristics of particulate pollutants in the ambient atmosphere are total mass concentration, size distribution, and chemical composition. In the United States, the PM q concentration, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <10 /nm, is the quantity measured for an air quality standard to protect human health from effects caused by inhalation of suspended particulate matter. As shown in Chapter 7, the size distribution of particulate pollutants is very important in understanding... 

For sources having a large component of emissions from low-level sources, the simple Gifford-Hanna model given previously as Eq. (20-19), X = Cqju, works well, especially for long-term concentrations, such as annual ones. Using the derived coefficients of 225 for particulate matter and 50 for SO2, an analysis of residuals (measured minus estimated) of the dependent data sets (those used to determine the values of the coefficient C) of 29 cities for particulate matter and 20 cities for SOj and an independent data set of 15 cities for particulate matter is summarized in Table 20-1. For the dependent data sets, overestimates result. The standard deviations of the residuals and the mean absolute errors are about equal for particulates and sulfur dioxide. For the independent data set the mean residual shows... 

Sources Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter and Sulfur Oxides, final draft, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, December 1981 Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Sulfur Oxides Assessment of Scientific and Technical Information, Draft OAQPS Staff Paper, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, April 1982. 

In the past, for many air pollution control situations, a change to a less polluting fuel offered the ideal solution to the problem. If a power plant was emitting large quantities of SO2 and fly ash, conversion to natural gas was cheaper than instaUing the necessary control equipment to reduce the pollutant emissions to the permitted values. If the drier at an asphalt plant was emitting 350 mg of particulate matter per standard cubic meter of effluent when fired with heavy oil of 4% ash, it was probable that a switch to either oil of a lower ash content or natural gas would allow the operation to meet an emission standard of 250 mg per standard cubic meter. 

Wood-fired power boilers are generally found at the mills where wood products are manufactured. They are fired with waste materials from the process, such as "hogged wood," sander dust, sawdust, bark, or process trim. Little information is available on gaseous emissions from wood-fired boilers, but extensive tests of particulate matter emissions are reported (19). These emissions range from 0.057 to 1.626 gm per dry standard cubic meter, with an average of 0.343 reported for 135 tests. Collection devices for particulate matter from wood-fired boilers are shown in Table 30-21. 

Control of particulate matter emissions from the kilns, dryers, grinders, etc. is by means of standard devices and systems (1) multiple cyclones (80% efficiency), (2) ESPs (95% -I- efficiency), (3) multiple cyclones followed by ESPs (97.5% efficiency), and (4) baghouses (99.8% efficiency). 

For the NSPS for incinerators, only particulate matter emissions are covered. Devise a standard which would also include POM, CO, and NO, for large municipal incinerators,... 

Effective with the 1982 model year, particulate matter from diesel vehicles was regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the first time, at a level of 0.37 gm km . Diesel vehicles were allowed to meet an NO level of 0.93 gm km under an Environmental Protection Agency waiver. These standards were met by a combination of control systems, primarily exhaust gas recirculation and improvements in the combustion process. For the 1985 model year, the standards decreased to 0.12 gm of particulate matter per kilometer and 0.62 gm of NO per kilometer. This required the use of much more extensive control systems (1). The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (2) have kept the emission standards at the 1985 model level with one exception diesel-fueled heavy trucks shall be required to meet an NO standard of 4.0 gm per brake horsepower hour. 

Although the original Clean Air Act of 1977 brought about significant improvements in air quality, the urban air pollution problems of ozone (known as smog), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM,o) persist. Currently, over 100 million Americans live in cities which are out of attaimnent with the public health standards for ozone. The most widespread and persistent urban... 

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