5. HISTORICAL LOOK AT THE OZONE
STANDARD
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater CBSA
Year Federal Standard
8-Hour Ozone Compliance Value*
(through Oct 12, 2010)
1971 80 ppb over a 1-hour period
0.100
1979
0.090
120 ppb over a 1-hour period
HIL-0081
0.080 HIL-1035
1997 80 ppb over an 8-hour period HIL-1065
HIL-3002
ppm
0.070
PIN-0004
PIN-0018
2008 -12
0.060 75 ppb over an 8-hour period PIN-5002
* Running 3-year average of the annual 4th
highest maximum daily 8-hour concentrations. PAS-0005
Referred to as the "design value".
PAS-2001
0.050
NAAQS
2013 ??? over an 8-hour period
0.040
Environmental Protection Commission
7. Revised sulfur dioxide (SO2) standard
• EPA first set NAAQS for SO2 in 1971, establishing a
primary 24-hour standard at 140 ppb and an annual
SO2
average standard at 30 ppb (to protect public health).
EPA also set a 3-hour average secondary standard at
0.5 ppm (to protect public welfare).
• In 2010, EPA revised the primary SO2 standard by
establishing a new 1-hour standard at a level of 75 ppb.
At that time, EPA also revoked the two existing primary
standards (the 24-hour and annual) because they would
not add additional public health protection.
10. Lead (Pb) health affects
Past major source of lead – gasoline
Current major source of lead – industrial
Lead
processes
There is no known safe level
of lead in the body
Children are most
susceptible to lead exposure
Effects include: poor
memory, anemia, impaired
mental development
11. Expanded Monitoring
• ENVIROFOCUS – battery recycler; center of nonattainment
• Six additional monitors added to monitor lead from two
major lead sources – EnviroFocus Technologies and
Johnson Controls. Pb = Lead
Monitoring
Sites
• EPC received EPA grants to Pb
to pay for the monitors,
manpower, and analysis.
Broadway
Avenue
• >$100M investment in plant
Pb
overhaul Pb
Pb
13. Revised NO2 Standard
• February 9, 2012 – US EPA Revised the Primary Air
Quality Standard for Nitrogen Dioxide
• Introduced a 1-hour standard of 100 ppb to protect
the public from short-term exposures
• Current scientific evidence links short-term NO2
exposures, ranging from 30 minutes to 24 hours, with
adverse respiratory effects including airway
inflammation in healthy people and increased
respiratory symptoms in people with asthma
14. NO2 Health Effects
• Approximately 16% of U.S housing units are located within 300
ft of a major highway, railroad, or airport (approximately 48
million people)
• NOx react with ammonia, moisture, and other compounds to
form small particles. These small particles penetrate deeply into
sensitive parts of the lungs and can cause or worsen respiratory
disease, such as emphysema and bronchitis, and can aggravate
existing heart disease, leading to increased hospital admissions
and premature death
• Studies also show a connection between short-term exposure and
increased emergency room visits for respiratory illnesses
15. Traffic-Related NO2 Exposure
• NO2 concentrations on or near NO2 Sources
major roads are higher than those
measured by the current
monitoring network
▫ In-vehicle concentrations can be 2-
Utilities
3 times higher than measured at 22%
nearby community-wide monitors
▫ Near-roadway concentrations have
Other
been measured to be 8%
Mobile
approximately 30 to 100% higher Sources
than nearby concentrations 58%
• Short-term NO2 exposures on or
near major roads can be
considerably higher than
measured by the current network EPA: Nationwide figures
16. Hillsborough County
NOx Emissions
250
200
Tons per day
150
1997
100 2008
50
0
Industry Transportation
Source
17. Near-Road Monitoring
Siting Requirements
• At least one monitor in core based
statistical areas (CBSAs) with population
greater than or equal to 500,000
• A second monitor in areas with either:
▫ population ≥ 2.5 million, or
▫ one or more road segments with an annual average daily
traffic count (AADT) ≥ 250,000 vehicles
• Tampa Bay Region Urban area affected
• Begin operations no later than January 1, 2013
• EPA grant funds available for implementation
18. Monitoring Requirements
• 126 NO2 monitors in 102 Urban areas
78 areas would require 1 monitor
(> 500,000 population)
24 areas would require 2 monitors
(> 2.5 million population or road segments with annual average daily traffic counts > 250,000 vehicles)
US EPA OAQPS
19. Site Considerations for Hillsborough
Co. Near-Road Monitoring Stations
• Rank all road segments in a CBSA by AADT count
• Identify monitoring location(s) near highest ranked
segments considering:
Fleet mix
Roadway design
Congestion patterns
Terrain
Meteorology
• Monitor site requirements
Near as practicable to the edge of the nearest traffic lanes
Not more than 50 meters away
21. Chosen Location The chosen road segment is near downtown
and is surrounded by neighborhoods and
schools.
NOx Monitor
~350ft.
22. Current Implementation Status
• Access Agreement with
COT
• EPA Grant Award
• Quality Assurance Plans
• Equipment purchases
• Site preparations and set-
up
• Data reporting, site
operation and
maintenance
23. Hillsborough’s Air Quality Index (AQI)
Summary
AQI Year Number of Days By Health Category
Good Moderate Unhealthy for Unhealthy
(< or = 50) (51-100) Sensitive (151-200)
Groups
(151-200)
2012 (thru Apr) 94 23 4
2011 277 75 13 0
2010 261 97 7 0
2009 305 56 4 0
2008 299 61 5 1
2007 279 80 5 1
AQI Phone: 627-2626
24. Questions & Comments
Sean McGinnis, CHMM
Environmental Protection Commission
Of Hillsborough County
mcginnis@epchc.org
www.epchc.org
Editor's Notes
The Environmental Protection Agency has established standards for the emissions of air pollutants with the goal to better protect public health.Locally, EPC monitors for those pollutants through a network of air monitors strategically located across the county.Of the 6 pollutants you see in front of you we are failing to meet the federal standards for sulfur dioxide, and lead.
Unlike stratospheric ozone, which protects us from the sun’s harmful rays, ground level or bad ozone is created by chemical reactions primarily generated from our vehicle exhaust and industrial sources that react in the presence of heat and sunlight.Ozone is a regional problem, so any efforts to control ozone levels must be done by multiple counties
The regulation of ozone has been around since the 70s. As you can see, the standards have tightened over the years to coincide with the protective levels suggested by the health studies. (click) This graph illustrates an actual decline in monitored ozone levels for the Tampa Bay Area over the past 25 years. The squiggly lines represent actual ozone monitoring data and the red line represent a trend line (based on my estimate).The decline in O3 levels is very noticeable after 2000, when TECO began to their efforts to repower their plant.What this tells us is we are doing things to reduce our ozone formation, but the standards that are set to protect our health are getting tighter.
Good news is all counties in the state are meeting the current standard …The entire nation was gearing up last year for a tougher standard, making plans for potential nonattainment areas, modeling studies and preparing for federal conformity tests, however the standard has remained the same 75 ppbWe expect to have difficulty in the coming years meeting the standard because of increasing travel and ultimately a lower standard
(Click) In 2010, after nearly 40 years, EPA revised the SO2 standardInstead of allowing SO2 levels to be measured over a 24hr and annual period, they require areas meet a 1-hour standard, which again is more protective of human health.
Three counties of the state, including Hillsborough are currently in violation of the new standard.
Our high SO2 levels are the result of the Mosaic fertilizer processing facility.Mosaic burns liquid sulfur in their processes and the SO2 is a byproduct of their operation.I believe we saw 7 exceedances of the standard in the past year.And though Mosaic is working with DEP and the EPA to come up with a solution to reduce the SO2 levels, the state was required to recommend a nonattainment boundary.(Click)This polygon, whose dimensions are based on an air pollution study, represents the impacted area and the recommended nonattainment area.
The other standard we are failing to meet is for lead. (Click)In the past, gasoline was the major source of lead in the atmosphere. But in the late 1970s EPA required that lead be removed from most fuels.there is no safe level of lead exposure and because the most common pathway of exposure is ingestion, children are the most susceptible because of their hand to mouth activities.
Our lead exceedances are the result of the work done at Envirofocus, a battery recycler in east Tampa. And the lead nonattainment area is segregated to a small 1.5km circumference area around the plant.(Click) The new lead rules require us to place additional monitors around the facility and in coordination with EPA and DEP we have already added those monitors.This map is of our current lead monitoring network. The outline in red represents the lead recycler’s facility.(Click)Envirofocus purchased the plant several years ago and is totally enclosing it to turn it into a state-of the art facility.
EPA Reviews NAAQS every 5-yrs Like the new lead and SO2 standards I mentioned earlier, EPA has also revised the NO2 standard with additional monitoring requirementsPromulgated February 2010, the new NO2 standard is designed to be more protective of short-term exposure to NO2. It requires that areas meet a 100ppb 1-hr protection level. We will monitor for NO2 emissions close to major roads beginning early next year.
National statistics, major highways include arterials
And the sources of the pollution of the pollution have changed.15 years ago the majority of the pollution was generated by industrial electric utilities.Now industrial sources (TECO) have been drastically reduced …and the transportation sources are greater
Promulgated February 9, 2010, the new NOx standard requires that we monitor for NOx emissions close to major roads beginning no later than 2013.
EPA funding initial capitol purchases for at least the first near road site
Fleet mix with emphasis on HDDVRoadway Design is elevated, canyons, noise barriers, Meteorology means downwind
I-275 near the Hillsborough River has the highest traffic count in the area.
