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SOURCE ASSESSMENT: COAL STORAGE PILES
Citation:
Blackwood, T. AND R. Wachter. SOURCE ASSESSMENT: COAL STORAGE PILES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-78/004K.
Description:
This report describes a study of atmospheric emissions from coal storage piles. Fugitive emissions of dust and gases are emitted from coal storage piles. The average emission factor for respirable particulate (< 7 micrometer) is 6.4 mg/kg per annum; this factor describes the emission rate 95% of the time within 108%. From the distribution of coal piles, a representative pile was selected containing 95,000 metric tons of bituminous coal. The emission rate from this pile averages 19 mg/s or 610 kg/yr. In order to evaluate the potential environmental effect of coal storage piles, a severity factor was defined as the ratio of the maximum ground level concentration of an emission to the ambient air quality standard for criteria pollutants and to a modified threshold limit value for other pollutants. Severity factors for a representative coal storage pile are 0.025 and 1.0 when the emissions are treated as gross particulate and coal dust, respectively. The national emission burden from all coal storage piles is 0.00048% of total national particulate emissions. The amount of coal stored is increasing at the rate of 3.8% per year and this will result in a 25% increase in emissions in 1978 compared to 1972. Air pollution control techniques for coal storage piles have not been generally established and no future control techniques are presently under consideration.