Next Generation Ambient Air Monitoring for Benzene and Toluene Compared with Traditional Methods at the Fenceline of an Indiana Oil Refinery
Oral Presentation
Prepared by W. Whipple1, M. Caudill2
1 - USEPA Region 5, 536 S Clark Street, Chicago, IL, 60626, United States
2 - USEPA Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard (AT-18J), Chicago, IL, 60604,
Contact Information: [email protected]; 312-353-9063
ABSTRACT
This study is part of a broader evaluation of a low-cost passive VOC sorbent tube sampler which was developed by EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD). This investigation was managed by EPA Region 5 in Chicago with sampling conducted on the basis of a fenceline air monitoring network at the BP Refinery in Whiting, Indiana. BP operates four stations which measure VOCs via continuous gas chromatograph as well as open path transceivers. EPA received permission to collocate passive sorbent tubes and canisters at these stations for weekly sampling between August and October 2014. Thirty complete sets of paired samples were collected, with sorbent tubes analyzed by EPA-ORD and canisters analyzed at EPA Chicago Regional Laboratory (CRL). BP Refinery, EPA-ORD, and EPA-CRL each reported a different list of VOC compounds, ranging in number from four species at BP to 60 at EPA-CRL. All organizations reported benzene and toluene, thus allowing a four-way method comparison for these hazardous air pollutants. EPA scientists made a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the four analytical methods and made recommendations on their appropriate uses in future fenceline and community-based air monitoring studies.
Oral Presentation
Prepared by W. Whipple1, M. Caudill2
1 - USEPA Region 5, 536 S Clark Street, Chicago, IL, 60626, United States
2 - USEPA Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard (AT-18J), Chicago, IL, 60604,
Contact Information: [email protected]; 312-353-9063
ABSTRACT
This study is part of a broader evaluation of a low-cost passive VOC sorbent tube sampler which was developed by EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD). This investigation was managed by EPA Region 5 in Chicago with sampling conducted on the basis of a fenceline air monitoring network at the BP Refinery in Whiting, Indiana. BP operates four stations which measure VOCs via continuous gas chromatograph as well as open path transceivers. EPA received permission to collocate passive sorbent tubes and canisters at these stations for weekly sampling between August and October 2014. Thirty complete sets of paired samples were collected, with sorbent tubes analyzed by EPA-ORD and canisters analyzed at EPA Chicago Regional Laboratory (CRL). BP Refinery, EPA-ORD, and EPA-CRL each reported a different list of VOC compounds, ranging in number from four species at BP to 60 at EPA-CRL. All organizations reported benzene and toluene, thus allowing a four-way method comparison for these hazardous air pollutants. EPA scientists made a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the four analytical methods and made recommendations on their appropriate uses in future fenceline and community-based air monitoring studies.
