You are here:
REGIONAL AIR POLLUTION STUDY. HIGH VOLUME FILTER MEASUREMENTS OF SUSPENDED PARTICULATE MATTER
Citation:
Nelson, E. REGIONAL AIR POLLUTION STUDY. HIGH VOLUME FILTER MEASUREMENTS OF SUSPENDED PARTICULATE MATTER. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/4-79/003 (NTIS PB290660), 1979.
Description:
Ten of the 25 stations making up the Regional Air Monitoring System were equipped with dichotomous samplers and high volume filter samplers for aerosol measurements. The high volume samplers collected samples every third day for 24-hour periods (0000-2400). Sample filters were returned to a chemical laboratory where weights of total suspended particulate (TSP) were determined, and wet chemical analyses performed for sulfates and nitrates. A total of 2358 samples were obtained between March 1975 and March 1977. The report describes both the operation of the sampling network, including equipment maintenance, and analysis and quality control procedures and results. Analyses were made to determine seasonal and spatial variations of the three parameters measured. The station geometric mean concentrations of TSP varied from 33.0 to 90.9 micrograms/cu m, sulfate ranged from 7.0 to 12.7 micrograms/cu m, and nitrate from 2.3 to 3.8 micrograms/cu m. Sulfate showed the greatest seasonal variation, peaking in the summer months, and nitrate the least, with no consistent patterns discernable. An Appendix lists all individual sampling results obtained. These data are stored in the RAPS Data Bank in Research Triangle Park, N.C.