Division of Air Quality Ambient Monitoring

1. Division of Air Quality Ambient Monitoring Donnie Redmond Section Chief May 7, 2014

2. Topics to be Covered • Ambient Monitoring • Why do we do it? • Who determines how many to operate? • How do we decide where to put them? • What do monitors look like? (Pictures!) • Issues on the Horizon

3. Ambient Monitoring: Why? • EPA requirements • Highest concentrations • Population exposure • Background • Research • Public health effects re pollutant levels • To better understand control strategies • Public interest

4. Ambient Monitoring: What? • EPA regulations lay out minimum requirements • Number of monitors • Where to locate them • How long to operate them • Different rules for each pollutant • Same standards apply across the nation

5. Example: Ozone requirements • Any metro area (MSA) with 350,000 people • Must have at least one ozone monitor • If >85% of the standard, must have two • Any MSA with at least 50,000 people • Must have a monitor if >85% of standard • At least one monitor in each area must be for maximum concentration

6. Ozone monitoring req’ts (cont.) • Eight NC metro areas have >350,000 people • Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Asheville, Hickory, Fayetteville • Each must have at least one monitor • Second monitor required if near ozone standard • Seven other MSAs with 50,000-350,000 people • Wilmington, Greenville, Rocky Mount, Jacksonville, Goldsboro, Burlington, New Bern • One monitor required if >85% of standard • 85% of the standard (75ppb) is ~64 ppb

7. Ozone monitoring req’ts (cont.) • Other considerations • Additional monitors may help reduce the size of a nonattainment area • Rural monitors may help determine transport of pollution • Number of required ozone monitors can add up quickly!

8. Other pollutants • PM2.5 • Population and pollutant concentration • NO2 • Population and traffic volume • SO2 • Population and emissions weighted index • Lead • Emissions-based • CO • No population-based requirements • Additional background monitors in support of PSD permitting

9. Ambient Monitoring: Who? • Statewide network • Regional office staff operates the monitors • Electronics calibration/repair shop in Raleigh • Two labs in Raleigh • Central office does QA, SOPs, and reporting • Local programs • Mecklenburg, Forsyth, Western NC • Cherokee tribe • Federal agencies also operate monitors in NC

10. Site Characteristics • Must meet EPA requirements, including • Distance from trees, buildings, roads • Nearby emissions sources • Prevailing wind direction • Height of sample probe above ground • Other considerations • Safety of technicians (traffic, terrain) • Access to power and phone • Cost to use site (free is good!) • Co-located with other instruments

11. Quality Assurance requirements • Chemists/statisticians review, validate, and report all the data • Calibrations • Power failures • “Exceptional events”, i.e., fires • Monitor performance issues • Temperature, humidity, leaks • Insects, varmints • Completeness

12. Issues on the Horizon • New ozone standard (2015) • Could require monitors in smaller metro areas • Could extend the ozone monitoring season • SO2 source-oriented monitoring (2016) • Major concerns regarding resources and logistics • Introduction of new high tech sensing devices • Citizens can take real-time local measurements

13. Particulate at Goldsboro

14. Ozone at Mocksville

15. Near road monitor in Raleigh

16. Questions? Donnie Redmond Ambient Monitoring Section Chief 919-707-8468 donnie.redmond@ncdenr.gov References • 40 CFR Part 58, Appendix D • DAQ website • http://www.ncair.org/