NAAQS Articles
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Are EPA’s Proposed Revisions to the PM Standards Appropriate?
Forum invites authors to share their opinions on environmental issues with EM readers. Opinions expressed in Forum are those of the author(s), and do not reflect official A&WMA policy. EM encourages your participation by either responding directly to this Forum or addressing another issue of interest to you. WHAT ARE NAAQS? The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires the EPA administrator to set ...
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`Implementation of Fine Particulate Standards - Quantification & Measurement Issues for Stationary Sources,` presented at the 2006 Conference on Air & Water Permits in Ohio
Agenda Why fine PM is currently an important issue Existing PM2.5 NAAQS Proposed NAAQS revisions Fine PM measurement methods Quantification issues Developments and alternatives ...
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EPA’S 2010 proposed ozone NAAQS, presented at EUEC 2010
Ozone NAAQS Overview Background –Why are revisions already being proposed to the March 2008 Ozone NAAQS? What are the proposed new ozone NAAQS? Expected Timeline Impacts Recent Ozone Standard Revisions Less than 2 years ago (March 12, 2008)EPA revised the 8-hour ozone standard Primary and secondary standard: 0.075 ppm Litigation Ensued American Lung Association v. ...
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More Stringent SO2 NAAQS Finalized by U.S. EPA
U.S. EPA has announced the promulgation of a new 1-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide (SO2). The new 1-hour NAAQS level is 75 parts per billion (ppb) measured as the three year average of the 99th percentile daily 1-hour maximum concentration. The new 1-hour NAAQS is a primary standard that replaces the existing annual and 24-hour SO2 NAAQS levels. The NAAQS ...
By All4 Inc.
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SO2 NAAQS Implementation: The Great American Update
Since the 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) became effective in August 2010, ALL4 has been tracking it every step of the way. Its implementation has proven to be chaotic at times and quiet at others. As we are ramping up into our air regulatory reporting obligations for 2014, U.S. EPA’s implementation of the 1-hour NAAQS is ramping up as well. This ...
By All4 Inc.
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Modeling for NAAQS Part 1: How to select the appropriate output for NO2
The U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 1-hour SO2, 1-hour NO2, and 24-hour PM2.5 use a very particular format. It is very important for all modelers (both within and outside of the U.S.) to understand how AERMOD handles this. In particular, U.S. users need to be familiar with the special tools available to help them analyze these results, and non-U.S. modelers (or anyone ...
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Tightening the Screws - Lower NAAQS Mean Higher Costs
ALL4’s Ambient Group continues to track and provide you with updates on the latest developments related to National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The NAAQS are the primary basis for the permitting of new stationary sources and modifications to stationary sources in the United States. A region’s compliance status with the NAAQS dictates how new major stationary sources and ...
By All4 Inc.
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New Nitrogen Dioxide Ambient Air Quality Standard Could Pose Challenges
In the more than 200 air quality modeling analyses that ALL4 meteorologists have conducted, demonstrating compliance with the annual nitrogen dioxide (NO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 53 parts per billion (ppbv) has rarely been an issue. The relative ease for demonstrating compliance with the annual NO2 NAAQS is due to two (2) factors. First, the NAAQS for NO2 is an annual ...
By All4 Inc.
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A practical guide to PM2.5
By now you’ve likely heard about U.S. EPA’s final rules governing the implementation of the New Source Review (NSR) program for fine particulate matter (i.e., particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 microns, or PM2.5). ALL4 published two articles in 2008 addressing specific aspects of the PM2.5 NSR rule. ALL4 has since formally established a PM2.5 Team to ...
By All4 Inc.
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Expanding lead monitoring in support of EPA`s revised NAAQS
On October 15, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) substantially strengthened the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead. The revised standards are 10 times lower than the previous standards and will improve health protection for at-risk groups with a particular focus on children. In conjunction with this strengthening of the lead NAAQS, EPA changed the existing ...
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Integrated science assessment for oxides of nitrogen – health criteria
Oxides of nitrogen is one of six principal (or “criteria”) pollutants for which EPA has established national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). The Clean Air Act requires EPA to periodically review the scientific basis for these standards by preparing an Integrated Science Assessment (ISA), formerly called an Air Quality Criteria Document (AQCD). The ISA was prepared as part of the review of ...
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National Ambient Air Quality Standards Update
You have seen ALL4 documenting the corresponding evolution of the NAAQS levels since the current U.S. EPA administration started in January 2009, and we will continue to follow them closely and provide you with updates that we think are important to your operations. The following sections provide updates on the most important NAAQS and how you can plan for them today. Discusses SO2, air ...
By All4 Inc.
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New American air quality standards focus on public health
The US Environmental Protection Agency has significantly strengthened its national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone, the primary component of smog. These changes will improve both public health protection and the protection of sensitive trees and plants. Based on its review of the air quality criteria for ozone (O3) and related photochemical oxidants and national ...
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Not So Fast - Getting That Air Permit Won`t Be As Easy As You Think
Most of the air regulations promulgated by U.S. EPA are developed and implemented to achieve compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The NAAQS represent ambient air concentration levels that are established by U.S. EPA to ensure that the general public and sensitive subgroups of the general public are not adversely affected by air pollution. The various NAAQS ...
By All4 Inc.
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Get the Lead Out
EPA rethinks air quality standards, seeks comments. By any independent standard, the federal government has made significant progress in reducing lead concentrations in ambient air. Average lead concentrations have dropped 96% since the 1980s, primarily due to the ban on lead in motor vehicle gasoline. Since the late 1970s, bloodlead concentrations for children ages 1 to 5 have decreased ...
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Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for oxides of nitrogen and sulfur – Ecological Criteria
Oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulfur are two of six principal (or “criteria”) pollutants for which EPA has established national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). The Clean Air Act requires EPA to periodically review the scientific basis for these standards by preparing an Integrated Science Assessment (ISA), formerly called an Air Quality Criteria Document (AQCD). The previous AQCDs for ...
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PSD and the Dreaded Major Modification
The implementation at the state level of the major New Source Review (NSR) rules that include both prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) and nonattainment new source review (NNSR) have evolved over a long period of time. During the last decade that evolution has been substantially impacted by the “NSR Reform” revisions of 2002; the regulation of particulate matter less than ...
By All4 Inc.
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U.S. EPA Releases 1-Hour NO2 NAAQS Modeling Guidance
The U.S. EPA Air Quality Modeling Group (AQMG) recently released a new guidance document for NO2 modeling. The document outlines procedures that can be used to calculate the NO2 design values for comparison to the new 1-hour NO2 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The new 1-hour NO2 standard of 100 ppb goes into effect on April 12, 2010. This 1-hour NO2 standard is based on the ...
By All4 Inc.
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Fine Particulate Series: PM2.5 nonattainment — What you need to know
In the March 2009 4 The Record article “A Practical Guide to PM2.5,” ALL4’s PM2.5 Team discussed the technical basics of PM2.5 and the specific steps that you can take to assess your position with regard to the challenging regulatory landscape that lies ahead. This month’s article aims to fill in a few technical details regarding PM2.5 nonattainment areas, including a ...
By All4 Inc.
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U.S. EPA Propses Revisions to Ozone NAAQS
In May 2008, states, environmental groups, and industry groups filed petitions with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (Court) for review of the 2008 ozone standards. In March 2009, the Court granted a U.S. EPA request to stay the litigation so that the Obama administration could review the standards and determine whether they should be reconsidered. On September 16, 2009, U.S. EPA announced that ...
By All4 Inc.
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