You are here:
SOURCE ASSESSMENT: HARVESTING OF GRAIN, STATE-OF-THE ART
Citation:
Wachter, R. AND T. Blackwood. SOURCE ASSESSMENT: HARVESTING OF GRAIN, STATE-OF-THE ART. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-77/107f.
Description:
The report describes a study of air pollutants generated by the harvesting of grain. Grain harvesting produces respirable particulates in the form of soil dust and plant tissue fragments. The former contains free silica, while the latter contains pesticide residues and microorganisms. Emissions are generated by the harvest machine activity, loading of the harvested crop, and transport while on the field. Grain harvesting contributes 0.006% of the national particulate emissions burden. (Source severity is defined as the ratio of the time-averaged maximum ground level concentration of a species emitted, to a hazard factor which is the primary AAQS for particulate and a time-adjusted TLV for silica.) Specific air pollution control technology for grain harvesting is presently nonexistent.