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Air Toxics SectionThe goal of the Air Toxic Monitoring Section is to provide quality air toxic monitoring data for a wide variety of program areas. The data are used for rulemaking, modeling, trend analysis, and tracking reductions in pollutants over time. Section Description: The Air Toxic Monitoring Section's main responsibility is to analyze samples and provide field support for various program areas. These include air toxics monitoring, particulate monitoring, and metals analysis. Each program area is further sub-categorized based on EPA mandates, Agency and Office-wide priorities and initiatives. The Air Toxic Monitoring Laboratory is well equipped with state of the art equipment. The equipment is very complex in nature and requires thorough knowledge and expertise to operate. The analyses are performed using EPA approved methodologies. All monitoring data are submitted to EPA's AIRS (Aerometric Information Retrieval Systems) database. AIR TOXICS MONITORING PROGRAM:
The Air Toxic Monitoring Program is sub-categorized into the following programs:
Our PAMS site is located in Gary, Indiana. At the Gary PAMS site, a Perkin Elmer Auto system gas chromatograph continuously monitors hourly air samples for the fifty-six ozone precursor class compounds. This program runs annually from June 1st through September 30th. This is the time of year when ground level ozone poses the greatest problems due to hot, humid weather conditions. This site is part of the EPA National Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Station (PAMS) Program. The program is designed to assess regions of the nation which are severe or extreme non-attainment areas for ground-level ozone. The data are being used to formulate ozone control strategies and achieve ozone attainment status for these regions.
Northwest Indiana is a very heavily industrialized area of the state which includes Lake and Porter Counties. Lake and Porter Counties are targeted for the toxics monitoring program due to the location of large numbers of toxic emission sources. The monitoring sites are located in Gary, East Chicago, Hammond, and Ogden Dunes. The samples are collected in stainless steel canisters every six days for a 24-hour period. All samples are analyzed for total organic compounds, ozone precursors, and toxic organic compounds using the gas chromatography equipment in the laboratory.
Ambient air samples are currently being collected on the EPA six-day schedule in four regions of the State in an attempt to measure the exposure of Indiana’s children to toxic organic pollutants. This initiative is sponsored directly by the Governor of Indiana. Samples are currently collected at four permanent sites located in Elkhart, Evansville, Gary, and Indianapolis. Over the past 2 years, each of these regions have also had three neighborhood assessment sites, which ran for at least a six-month period in each region. All samples collected for this program are also analyzed for total organic compounds, ozone precursors, and toxic organic compounds. A special purpose monitoring site has been added at Indianapolis School 21 due to complaints about children’s exposure to toxic emissions from the Citizen’s Gas and Coke facility located near the school. We are helping the Indianapolis Air Pollution Control Agency to assess the situation at this site. For more details on the sites, sampling, and compound information, please refer to the TOXWATCH web page. It can be found by clicking onto the TOXWATCH icon at the bottom of this page.
In addition to the regularly scheduled sampling at these sites, the Air Toxic Monitoring Section also responds to citizen’s complaints which are reported to local health departments or air pollution control agencies. When appropriate, grab sampling for air toxics is conducted in response to these complaints, and reports are issued to the local agency that requested sampling. All complaint samples are analyzed for total organic compounds, ozone precursors, and toxic organic compounds using the gas chromatography equipment in the laboratory. Information about classes of monitored compounds: Ozone precursor compounds are not necessarily directly toxic to humans (although a few are). Ozone precursors are a class of organic compounds which combine with oxides of nitrogen (emitted from vehicles, power plants, etc.) and ultraviolet rays from the sun to form ozone in the breathable layer of the atmosphere. High levels of ozone can cause detrimental health effects. Fifty-six of the compounds we monitor are ozone precursors. Toxic organic compounds are those compounds which either have an immediate (acute) or long-term (chronic) detrimental effect on human health. Thirty-nine of the compounds we monitor are toxic organic compounds. Nine compounds are present on both the toxic organic list and the ozone precursor list. The total number of reported compounds is currently eighty-seven.
The State of Indiana was one of the first states in the country to contact other state agencies within our region and compare sample results to ensure data quality. Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin routinely exchange samples each year and compare analytical results from all four participating states to ensure quality and comparability of our data. Many other regions of the country are now imitating this inter-laboratory study as a way of measuring data quality.
The Air Toxic Monitoring Section also analyzes the air for particulate concentration. We currently monitor for three different size ranges of material. Total Suspended Particulate (or TSP) is all of the dust and dirt in the air. Particulate Matter less than Ten Microns (or PM-10) is a fraction of the TSP. Particulate Matter less than 2.5 Microns (or PM 2.5) is an even finer fraction of the TSP. Both the PM-10 and PM 2.5 programs are attempts by EPA to monitor for particulate that can be inhaled into the lungs. PM–10 monitoring began in 1987 and PM 2.5 is our newest program, starting in 1998. The PM 2.5 program is where the majority of our particulate monitoring effort is concentrated. This program is much more complex than either TSP or PM-10. We currently have four TSP monitors, 13 PM-10 monitors and 41 PM 2.5 monitors in locations throughout the state
The Air Toxic Monitoring Section also analyzes the high volume TSP filters for various metals. Ambient air suspended particulate matter is collected on a glass fiber filter for 24 hours using a high volume air sampler. Initially the filters were analyzed for fourteen metals, but due to resource constraints, the section is doing the analysis of lead only. There are seven sites we are analyzing for lead. Four of these are state-run sites and the rest are run by the City of Indianapolis. These sites are as follows.
(1) Site 26A- 7601 Rockville Road. SLAMS (2) Site 26C- 7601 Rockville Road. (Collocated) SLAMS (3) Site 36- 230 S. Girls school Rd. SLAMS (4) East Chicago Water Treatment Plant SPM (5) Hammond Summer Street SPM (6) Hammond Superior Engineering SPM (7) Hammond Superior (Collocated) SPM Note: (1) SLAMS: State and Local Air Monitoring Site. (2) SPM: Special Purpose Monitoring. The analysis is performed on the Atomic Absorption Spectrometer using the flame method.
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