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METHODOLOGY FOR SITING AMBIENT AIR MONITORS AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE
Citation:
Baldauf, R W., R W. Wiener, AND D. K. Heist. METHODOLOGY FOR SITING AMBIENT AIR MONITORS AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE. JOURNAL OF THE AIR & WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION 52(0):11433-1442, (2002).
Impact/Purpose:
The objective of this task is to develop and employ PM measuring tools for EPA researchers and regulators to use to characterize the exposure of humans to PM of outdoor origin in both outdoor and indoor environments. Achieving these objectives will improve the scientific foundation for risk assessments of PM in future reevaluations of the NAAQS and in assessing exposure of humans to PM.
Description:
In siting a monitor to measure compliance with U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter (PM), there is a need to characterize variations in PM concentration within a neighborhood-scale region in order to achieve monitor siting objectives.
We provide here a simple methodology for the selection of a neighborhood-scale site for meeting either of the two objectives identified for PM monitoring. This methodology is based on analyzing middle-scale (from 100 to 500 m) data from within the area of interest. The required data can be obtained from widely available dispersion models and emissions databases.
The performance of the siting methodology was evaluated in a neighborhood-scale field study conducted in Hudson County, NJ, to characterize the area's inhalable particulate (PM10) concentrations. Air monitors were located within a 2- by 2-km area in the vicinity of the Lincoln Tunnel entrance in Hudson County. Results indicate the siting methodology performed well, providing a positive relationship between the predicted concentration rank at each site and the actual rank experienced during the field study. Also discussed are factors that adversely affected the predictive capabilities of the model.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through its Office of Research and Development funded and collaborated in the research described here under cooperative agreement CR-815152-02 with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and under contract 68-D-00-206 to ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc. It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation for use.