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Spatial analysis of volatile organic compounds using passive samplers in the Rubbertown industrial area of Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Citation:
Mukerjee, S., L. Smith, E. Thoma, D. Whitaker, K. Oliver, R. Duvall, AND T. Cousett. Spatial analysis of volatile organic compounds using passive samplers in the Rubbertown industrial area of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Atmospheric Pollution Research. Turkish National Committee for Air Pollution Research and Control, Izmir, Turkey, (6):81-86, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2020.02.021
Impact/Purpose:
Energy production operations, refineries, chemical plants, and other industries and waste facilities can emit air pollutants and odorous compounds from fugitive leaks, process malfunctions, and area sources that are hard to detect and manage. From the shared perspective of industries, regulators, and communities, improved understanding of stochastic industrial sources (SIS) can yield many benefits such as safer working environments, cost savings through reduced product loss, lower airshed impacts, and improved community relations. The emergence of lower-cost passive samplers and geo-spatial approaches is enabling cost-effective ways to detect and analyze SIS emissions. Under its next generation emissions measurement (NGEM) program, EPA is working with a range of partners to develop and test NGEM tools that can assist facilities in detection and management of sources. As described in the below abstract, the following product contributes to the general advancement and communication of NGEM concepts.
Description:
Select volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured in the vicinity of chemical facilities and other operations in the Rubbertown industrial area of Louisville, Kentucky (USA) using modified EPA Methods 325A/B with passive sampler tubes. Two-week, time-integrated passive samplers were deployed at ten sites which were aggregated into three site groups of varying distances from the Rubbertown area facilities. In comparison to canister data from 2001 to 2005, two of the sites suggested generally lower current VOC levels. Good precision was obtained from the duplicate tubes (≤ 12%) for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene isomers (BTEX), styrene, 1,3-butadiene, perchloroethylene, and other trace VOCs. BTEX, styrene, and 1,3-butadiene concentrations were statistically significantly higher at two site groups near Rubbertown sources than the site group farther away. As found in a similar study in South Philadelphia, BTEX concentrations were also lower for sites farther from a source, though the decline was less pronounced on a percentage basis in Rubbertown. These results suggest that EPA Methods 325A/B can be useful to assess VOC gradients for emissions from chemical facilities besides fenceline benzene levels from refineries.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Spatial analysis of volatile organic compounds using passive samplers in the Rubbertown industrial area of Louisville, Kentucky, USA
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