Topics in health and safety

foundation of the health and safety:

Health: is state of complete physical and mental and social welling being
Safety: freedom from danger or risks.
Welfare: facilities for workplace comfort.
Reasons for managing health and safety and environment:
Moral reasons Prime motivator for managing health, safety and environment. It unacceptable
by society to put employees in danger situations where expose to injuries or ill- health.
Person go to work to gain his living and killed or injured which consider as unacceptable by
society.
Social reasons: which related to either national or international laws that governing health and
safety and environment.
Enforcement agency play vital role in enforcing both health, safety and environment
standards.

Investigating Enforcement action Prosecution

Legal reasonability of employers:

Safe place of wok so the workplace should be safe and without any risks either for health and
safety and environment.
Safe plant and equipment so ensuring the tools and equipment that used by employees are
safe and without risks to health, safety and environment, and ensure it comply with CE
standards.
Safe system of work which include procedures and arrangements for conducting work in safe
conditions.
Training, information, supervision by adequate level of supervision (supervisors should be
competent)
Economic reasons:
Hidden Costs of Accidents: Within the UK, a survey published by the HSE in 1993 showed that for every 1 recove
A popular way of depicting the difference between direct and indirect costs is by means of an iceberg
analogy (see illustration below):
The Cost. Health and safety failures cost Great Britain up to 18.1 billion each year (2.1% -2.6% GDP). The cost o
into consideration. It is also necessary to distinguish between the direct and the indirect costs of an accident (see be

The cost of an accident can be divided into two parts: there are direct costs, which in-clude:

insurance claims,
sick pay,
loss of production,
repairs,
product loss or damage,
public liability,
damage to equipment, buildings, etc.

The indirect costs include:

business interruption,
product liability,
loss of orders,
cost of time spent on investigations,
legal fees,
 loss of corporate image.

In addition to which, we must not forget the cost of suffering that those injured may endure
and the stress for their families, together with the psychological effect on other workers.

Barriers to good standards of health and safety include:

Complexity - Employees become unhappy with the amount and type of information available
on health and safety which is not tailored specifically to them. Legislation, regulations and
requirements can become overwhelming, difficult to understand and poorly communicated.
Competing & Conflicting Demands - demands to meet production targets or keep within
budgets, may compromise health and safety.
Behavioral Issues - changing worker's attitudes and behavior to work safely is one of the big-
gest challenges in health and safety.
 Topics in environmental
1. Introduction
Environmental engineering is the application of science and
engineering principles to protect and utilize natural resources, control
environmental pollution, improve environmental quality to enable healthy
ecosystems and comfortable habitations of humans.
Environmental engineering is a relatively new profession with a long and
honorable history. The descriptive title of environmental engineer was
not used until the 1960s, when academic programs in engineering and
public health schools broadened their scope and required a more accurate
title to describe their curricula and their graduates. The roots of this
profession, however, go back as far as recorded history. These roots reach
into several major disciplines including civil and chemical engineering,
public health, ecology, chemistry, and meteorology. From each
foundation, the environmental engineering profession draws knowledge,
skill, and professionalism. From ethics, the environmental engineer draws
concern for the greater good.
In USA, on January 1,1970, President Richard Nixon signed The
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) into law, setting a national
policy to encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between people
and their environment. This law established the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ), which monitors the environmental effects
of all federal activities, assists the President in evaluating environmental
problems, and determines solutions to these problems.
2. Risk Analysis
One of the tasks of the environmental engineer is to understand and
reduce the risks from hazards from environmental pollution to the
environment and to public health in both long and short term. In
particular the environmental engineer frequently is asked to estimate or
project future risks, then to use science, engineering, and technology to
design facilities and or processes to prevent or mitigate those risks. To
accomplish this objective the risks associated with various hazards must
initially be evaluated and Risk analysis is introduced here as 2
a tool of the environmental engineer that crosses the boundaries of
science, engineering, and risk analysis.
Our industrial society needs accurate quantitative risk assessment to
evaluate the protection afforded by various levels of pollution control. We
must also remain aware that determination of safe levels of pollutants
based on risk analysis is a temporary measure until the mechanism of the
damage done by the pollutant is elucidated and understood
3. Water Pollution
Although people intuitively relate filth to disease, the transmission of
disease by pathogenic organisms in polluted water was not recognized
until the middle of the nineteenth century. The Broad Street pump in
London (1854) handle incident demonstrated dramatically that water
could carry diseases (Cholera).
3.1Sources of Water Pollution
Water pollutants are categorized as point source or nonpoint source, the
former being identified as all dry weather pollutants that enter
watercourses through pipes or channels. Storm drainage, even though the
water may enter watercourses by way of pipes or channels, is considered
nonpoint source pollution. Other nonpoint source pollution comes from
agricultural runoff, construction sites, and other land disturbances. Point
source pollution comes mainly from industrial facilities and municipal
wastewater treatment plants. Water pollutant includes
i. Oxygen demanding substances such as might be discharged from milk
processing plants, or paper mills, as well as municipal wastewater
treatment plants, compose one of the most important types of pollutants
because these materials decompose in the watercourse and can deplete the
water of dissolved oxygen.
ii. Sediments and suspended solids may also be classified as a pollutant.
Sediments consist of mostly inorganic material washed into a stream as
a result of land cultivation, construction, demolition, and mining
operations. Sediments interfere with fish spawning because they can
cover gravel beds and block light penetration, making food harder to
find. Sediments can also damage gill structures directly, smothering
aquatic insects and fishes. Organic sediments can 3
deplete the water of oxygen, creating anaerobic (without oxygen)
conditions, and may create unsightly conditions and cause unpleasant
odors.
iii. Nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, can promote the rapid
biological aging of lakes, streams, and estuaries. Phosphorus and
nitrogen are common pollutants in residential and agricultural runoff,
and are usually associated with plant debris, animal wastes, or fertilizer.
Phosphorus and nitrogen are also common pollutants in municipal
wastewater discharges, even if the wastewater has received conventional
treatment. Phosphorus adheres to inorganic sediments and is transported
with sediments in storm runoff. Nitrogen tends to move with organic
matter or is leached from soils and moves with groundwater.
iv. Heat may be classified as a water pollutant when it is caused by heated
industrial effluents or from anthropogenic (human) alterations of stream
bank vegetation that increase the stream temperatures due to solar
radiation. Heated discharges may drastically alter the ecology of a stream
or lake. Although localized heating can have beneficial effects like
freeing harbors from ice, the ecological effects are generally deleterious.
Heated effluents lower the solubility of oxygen in the water because gas
solubility in water is inversely proportional to temperature, thereby
reducing the amount of dissolved oxygen available to aerobic (oxygen-
dependent) species. Heat also increases the metabolic rate of aquatic
organisms (unless the water temperature gets too high and kills the
organism), which further reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen
because respiration increases.
v. Municipal wastewater often contains high concentrations of organic
carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen, and may contain pesticides, toxic
chemicals, salts, inorganic solids (e.g., silt), and pathogenic bacteria and
viruses. A century ago, most discharges from municipalities received no
treatment whatsoever. Since that time, the population and the pollution
contributed by municipal discharge have both increased, but treatment
has increased also.
vi. Acids and bases from industrial and mining activities can alter the
water quality in a stream or lake to the extent that it kills the aquatic
organisms living there, or prevent them from reproducing. Acid mine
drainage has polluted surface waters 4
since the beginning of ore mining. Sulfur-laden water leached from
mines, including old and abandoned mines as well as active ones,
contains compounds that oxidize to sulfuric acid on contact with air.
Deposition of atmospheric acids originating in industrial regions has
caused Lake Acidification throughout vast areas of Canada, Europe, and
Scandinavia.
vii. Synthetic organics and pesticides can adversely affect aquatic
ecosystems as well as making the water unusable for human contact or
consumption. These compounds may come from point source industrial
effluents or from nonpoint source agricultural and urban runoff.
3.2 Measurement of Water Quality
Quantitative measurements of pollutants are obviously necessary
before water pollution can be controlled. Measurement of these pollutants
is, however, fraught with difficulties. Sometimes specific materials
responsible for the pollution are not known. Moreover, these pollutants
are generally present at low concentrations, and very accurate methods of
detection are required. Only a few of the analytical tests available to
measure water pollution are discussed here. A complete volume of
analytical techniques used in water and wastewater engineering is
compiled as Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and
Wastewater (Clesceri et al. 1998). This volume is updated every few
years so that it can incorporate current information on standardized
testing techniques. It is considered definitive in its field and has the
weight of legal authority.
Many water pollutants are measured in terms of milligrams of the
substance per liter of water (mg/L,). In older publications pollutant
concentrations were often expressed as parts per million (pprn), a
weigh/weight parameter. If the only liquid involved is water, ppm is
identical with mg/L, since one liter (L) of water weighs
1000 grams (g). For many aquatic pollutants, ppm is approximately equal
to mg/L; however, because of the possibility that some wastes have
specific gravity different from water, mg/L is preferred to ppm.
3.2.1 Sampling
Some tests require the measurement to be conducted at the site because
the process of obtaining a sample may change the measurement. For
example, to 5
measure the dissolved oxygen in a stream or lake, either the measurement
should be conducted at the site or the sample must be extracted with great
care to ensure that there has been no loss or addition of oxygen as the
sample is exposed to the air. Similarly, it is better to measure pH at the
site if you are sampling water that is poorly buffered from pH changes
(see discussion on alkalinity).
Most tests may be performed on a water sample taken from the stream.
The process, by which the sample is obtained, however, may greatly
influence the result. The three basic types of samples are grab samples,
composite samples, and flow-weighted composite samples. The grab
sample, as the name implies, measures water quality at only one sampling
point. Grab samples accurately represent the water quality at the moment
of sampling, but say nothing about the quality before or after the
sampling. A composite sample is obtained by taking a series of grab
samples and mixing them together. The flow weighted composite is
obtained by taking each sample so that the volume of the sample is
proportional to the flow at that time. The last method is especially useful
when daily loadings to wastewater treatment plants are calculated.
Whatever the technique or method, however, the analysis can only be as
accurate as the sample, and often the sampling methods are far more
sloppy than the analytical determination.
3.2.2Dissolved Oxygen
One of the most important measures of water quality is dissolved
oxygen. Oxygen, although poorly soluble in water, is fundamental to
aquatic life. Without free dissolved oxygen, streams and lakes become
uninhabitable to aerobic organisms, including fish and most invertebrates.
Dissolved oxygen is inversely proportional to temperature, and the
maximum amount of oxygen that can be dissolved in water at 0C is 14.6
mg/L .The saturation value decreases rapidly with increasing water
temperature, as shown in Table 1. The balance between saturation and
depletion is therefore tenuous.The amount of oxygen dissolved in water is
usually measured either with an oxygen probe or by iodometric titration.
The latter method, known as the Winkler test, 6
Table 1. Solubility of Oxygen in Water
3.2.3 Biochemical Oxygen Demand
The rate of oxygen use is commonly referred to as biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD). Biochemical oxygen demand is not a specific pollutant,
but rather a measure of the amount of oxygen required by bacteria and
other microorganisms engaged in stabilizing decomposable organic
matter over a specified period of time. The BOD test is often used to
estimate the impacts of effluents that contain large amounts of
biodegradable organics such as that from food processing plants and
feedlots, municipal wastewater treatment facilities, and pulp mills. A high
oxygen demand indicates the potential for developing dissolved oxygen
sag as the microbiota oxidizes the organic matter in the effluent. A very
low oxygen demand indicates either clean water or the presence of a toxic
or nondegradable.
The BOD test was first used in the late 1800s by the Royal Commission
on Sewage. Disposal as a measure of the amount of organic pollution in
British rivers. At that time, the test was standardized to run for 5 days at
18.3 oC. These numbers were chosen because none of the British rivers
had headwater-to-sea travel times greater than 5 days, and the average
summer temperature for the rivers was 18.3oC. 7
Accordingly, this should reveal the "worst case" oxygen demand in any
British river. The BOD incubation temperature was later rounded to 20
oC, but the 5-day test period remains the current, if somewhat arbitrary,
standard. In its simplest version, the 5-day BOD test (BODS) begins by
placing water or effluent samples into two standard 60- or 300-mL BOD
bottles. One sample is analyzed immediately to measure the initial
dissolved oxygen concentration in the effluent, often using a Winkler
titration. The second BOD bottle is sealed and stored at 20C in the dark.
(The samples are stored in the dark to avoid photosynthetic oxygen
generation.) After 5 days the amount of dissolved oxygen remaining in
the sample is measured. The difference between the initial and ending
oxygen concentrations is the BODS.
The oxidation of organic matter follows an exponential decay curve. If
the dissolved oxygen concentrations were measured daily, the results
would produce curves like those shown in Fig. 1. In this example, sample
A had an initial dissolved oxygen concentration of 8 mg/L, which
dropped to 2 mg/L in 5 days. The BOD therefore is 8 - 2 = 6 mg/L
Figure 1. Typical oxygen uptake curves in a BOD test. 8
Sample B also had an initial dissolved oxygen concentration of 8 mg/L,
but the oxygen was used so fast that it dropped to 0 by the second day.
Since there is no measurable dissolved oxygen left after 5 days, the BOD
of sample B must be more than 8 - 0 = 8 mg/L, but we do not know how
much more because the organisms in the sample might have used more
dissolved oxygen if it had been available. Samples like this require
diluting the sample. Typically, 1/10dilutions are recommended for
wastewaters of unknown origin. Suppose sample C in Fig. 1 is sample B
diluted by 1/10. The BOD5 for sample B would be
It is possible to measure the BOD of any organic material (e.g., sugar)
and thus estimate its influence on a stream, even though the material in its
original state might not contain the microorganisms necessary to break
down organic matter. Seeding is a process in which the microorganisms
that oxidize organic matter are added to the BOD bottle. Seeding also
facilitates measurement of very low BOD concentrations. The seed
source can be obtained from unchlorinated domestic wastewater or
surface water that receives degradable wastewater effluents. Suppose we
use the water previously described in curve A as seed water since it
obviously contains microorganisms (it has a 5-day BOD of 6mg/L). We
now put
100 mL of an unknown solution into a bottle and add 200 mL of seed
water, thus filling the 300-mL bottle. Assuming that the initial dissolved
oxygen of this mixture is 8 mg/L and the final dissolved oxygen is 1
mg/L, the total oxygen consumed is 7 m a . Some of this is due to the
seed water, because it also has a BOD, and only a portion is due to the
decomposition of the unknown material. The oxygen consumed due to
the seed water is
because only two-thirds of the bottle is seed water, and only the seed
water has a
BOD of 6 mg/L . The remaining oxygen consumed (7 - 4 = 3 mgL) must
be due to
the unknown material. Equation below shows how to calculate the BOD5
for a diluted, seeded effluent sample, 9
where
I = initial dissolved oxygen in the bottle containing both effluent sample
F = final dissolved oxygen in the bottle containing the effluent and seeded
I' = initial dissolved oxygen of the seeded dilution water,
F'= final dissolved oxygen of the seeded dilution water,
X = mL of seeded dilution water in sample bottle,
Y = total mL in the bottle, and
D = dilution of the sample.
EXAMP.1 . Calculate the BOD5 of a water sample, given the following
data:
-Temperature of sample = 20 C,
-Initial dissolved oxygen is saturation,
-Dilution is 1:30, with seeded dilution water,
-Final dissolved oxygen of seeded dilution water is 8 mg/L,
-Final dissolved oxygen bottle with sample and seeded dilution water is 2
mg/L,
-Volume of BOD bottle is 300mL.
From Table 1, dissolved oxygen saturation at 20C is 9.2mg/L; hence,
this is the initial dissolved oxygen. Since the BOD bottle contains 300
mL, a 1:30 dilution with seeded water would contain 10mL of sample and
290 mL of seeded dilution water, so
BOD is a measure of oxygen use, or potential oxygen use. An effluent
with a high BOD may be harmful to a stream if the oxygen consumption
is great enough to cause anaerobic conditions. Obviously, a small trickle
going into a great river will have negligible effect, regardless of the BOD
concentration involved. Conversely, a large flow into a small stream may
seriously affect the stream even though the
BOD concentration might be low. 10
3.2.4 Chemical Oxygen Demand
One problem with the BOD test is that it takes 5 days to run. If the
organic compounds were oxidized chemically instead of biologically, the
test could be shortened considerably. Such oxidation can be accomplished
with the chemical oxygen demand (COD) test. Because nearly all organic
compounds are oxidized in the COD test, while only some are
decomposed during the BOD test, COD results are always higher than
BOD results. One example of this is wood pulping waste, in which
compounds such as cellulose are easily oxidized chemically (high COD)
but are very slow to decompose biologically (low BOD).
The standard COD test uses a mixture of potassium dichromate and
sulfuric acid to oxidize the organic matter (HCOH), with silver (Ag+)
added as a catalyst.
3.2.5 Total Organic Carbon
Since the ultimate oxidation of organic carbon is to CO 2, the total
combustion of a sample yields some information about the potential
oxygen demand in an effluent sample. Water that is high in total organic
carbon has a greater potential to develop disinfection by-products. Some
of the organics can be removed by adding levels of treatment specific for
organic carbon absorption; however, it is usually not economically
feasible to remove all naturally occurring organics from finished drinking
water.
Total organic carbon is measured by oxidizing the organic carbon to CO 2
and H2O and measuring the C02 gas using an infrared carbon analyzer.
The oxidation is done by direct injection of the sample into a high-
temperature (680-950C) combustion chamber or by placing a sample
into a vial containing an oxidizing agent such as potassium persulfate,
sealing and heating the sample to complete the oxidation, then measuring
the CO2 using the carbon analyzer
3.2.6 Turbidity
Water that is not clear but is dirty, in the sense that light transmission is
inhibited, is known as turbid water. Many materials can cause turbidity,
including clays and other tiny inorganic particles, algae, and organic
matter. In the drinking water treatment process, turbidity is of great
importance, partly because turbid 11
water is aesthetically displeasing, and also because the presence of tiny
colloidal particles makes it more difficult to remove or inactivate
pathogenic organisms.
Turbidity is measured using a turbidimeter. Turbidimeters are
photometers that measure the intensity of scattered light. Opaque particles
scatter light, so scattered light measured at right angles to a beam of
incident light is proportional to the turbidity. Formazin polymer is
currently used as the primary standard for calibrating turbidimeters, and
the results are reported as nephelometric turbidity units (NTU).
3.2.7 Color, Taste, And Odor
Color, taste, and odor are important measurements for determining
drinking water
quality. Along with turbidity, color, taste, and odor are important from the
standpoint of aesthetics. If water looks colored, smells bad, or tastes
swampy, people will instinctively avoid using it, even though it might be
perfectly safe from the public health aspect. Color, taste, and odor
problems in drinking water are often caused by organic substances such
as algae or humic compounds, or by dissolved compounds such as iron.
Color can be measured visually by comparison with potassium
chloroplatinate standards or by scanning at different spectrophotometric
wavelengths.
Odor is measured by successive dilutions of the sample with odorfree
water until the odor is no longer detectable. (Odor-free water is prepared
by passing distilled, deionized water through an activated charcoal filter.)
This test is obviously subjective and depends entirely on the olfactory
senses of the tester. Panels of testers are used to compensate for variations
in individual perceptions of odor.
Taste is evaluated using three methods: the flavor threshold test (FIT),
the flavor rating assessment (FRA), and the flavor profile analysis (FPA).
For the FIT, water samples are diluted with increasing amounts of
reference water until a panel of taste testers concludes that there is no
perceptible flavor. In the FRA, a panel of testers is asked to rate the flavor
from very favorable to very unfavorable. The oldest, and most useful, of
the taste tests is the FPA, which measures both taste and odor of a water
sample in comparison to taste and odor reference standards. The 12
intensity of specific tastes and odors are described on a 12-point, ranging
from no taste or odor (0) to taste or odor (12).
3.2.8 Other Parameters of Water Quality
Other parameters include pH (acidity), Alkalinity, solids, nitrogen and
phosphorus, pathogen, heavy metals and other organic compounds.
3.2.9 Conclusion
Only a few of the most important tests used in water pollution control
have been discussed here. Hundreds of analytical procedures have been
documented, many of which can be performed only with special
equipment and skilled technicians. Understanding this, and realizing the
complexity, variations, and objectives of some of the measurements of
water pollution, how would you answer someone who brings a jug of
water to your office, sets it on your desk, and asks, Can you tell me if
this water is polluted?
4. Air Pollution
Air is considered to be polluted when it contains certain substances in
concentrations high enough and for durations long enough to cause harm
or undesirable effects. Most air contaminants originate from combustion
processes.
The primary focus of air pollution regulation in industrialized countries
has been on protecting ambient, or outdoor, air quality. This involves the
control of a small number of specific criteria pollutants known to
contribute to urban smog and chronic public health problems. The criteria
pollutants include fine particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and lead. Since the end of the 20th century,
there also has been the hazardous effects of trace amounts of many other
air pollutants called air toxics. Most air toxics are organic chemicals,
comprising molecules that contain carbon, hydrogen, and other atoms.
Specific emission regulations have been implemented against those
pollutants. In addition, the long-term and far-reaching effects of the
greenhouse gases on atmospheric chemistry and climate have been
observed, and cooperative international efforts have been undertaken to
control those pollutants. The greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide,
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. . 13
In 2009 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled that greenhouse
gases posed a threat to human health and could be subject to regulation as
air pollutants.
The best way to protect air quality is to reduce the emission of
pollutants by changing to cleaner fuels and processes. Pollutants not
eliminated in this way must be collected or trapped by appropriate air-
cleaning devices as they are generated and before they can escape into the
atmosphere.
4.1Measurement of Air Quality
Air quality measurements are designed to determine the levels of all
types of contaminants in the atmosphere we breathe with no attempt
made to differentiate between naturally occurring contaminants and those
that result from human activity. Measurements of air quality fall into
three classes:
- Measurement of emissions. This is called stack sampling when a
stationary source is analyzed. Samples are drawn out through a hole or
vent in the stack for on-the-spot analyses. Mobile sources like
automobiles are tested by sampling exhaust emissions while the engine is
running and working against a load.

- Meteorological measurements. The measurement of meteorological

factors: wind speed, wind direction, lapse rates, etc., is necessary to
determine how pollutants travel from source to recipient.

- Measurement of ambient air quality. Ambient air quality is measured

by a variety of monitors. Almost all evidence of health effects of air
pollution are based on correlation of these effects with measured ambient
air quality.
Modern monitoring and measurement equipment uses power-driven
pumps and other collection devices, and can sample a larger volume of
air in a relatively shorter time than older equipment could. Gas
measurement is often by wet chemistry, in that collected gas is either
dissolved into or reacted with a collecting fluid. Modern monitors provide
continuous readout. The measurement of pollutant concentrations is
almost instantly translated by a readout device, so that the pollution may
be measured while it is happening 14
4.1.1 Measurement of Particulate Matter
Both total suspended particulate matter (TSP) and particles 10 micro-m
in diameter or less (PM10) are measured when monitoring ambient air.
Measurement devices used are variants of high-volume, or hi-vol,
samplers. A hi-vol sampler operates much like a vacuum cleaner by
pumping air at a high rate through a filter. About 2000 m 3 (70,000 ft3) can
be pumped in 24h, so that sampling time can be cut to between 6 and 24
h. Analysis is gravimetric; the filter is weighed before and after the
sampling period. The weight of particles collected is then the difference
between these two weights
EXAMPL 2.
A clean filter is found to weigh 10.00g . After 24 h in a hi-vol sampler,
the filter plus dust weighs 10.1mg. The air flow at start and end of the test
was 60 and 40 ft3/min, respectively. What is the concentration of
particulate matter?
4.1.2 Measurement of Gases
Ambient concentrations of gaseous air pollutants are usually measured
by reacting the gas chemically with a colorimetric reagent and measuring
the intensity of the reaction product color.
Sulfur dioxide may also be measured by impregnating filter papers with
chemicals that react with SO2 and change color. For example, lead
peroxide reacts to form dark lead sulfate, by the reaction. One widely
used third-generation device is nondispersive infrared
spectrophotometry (nondispersive IR), used for measurement of CO,
including CO measurement for routine automobile inspection and
maintenance. Like all asymmetric gas molecules, CO absorbs at the
specific infrared frequencies that correspond to molecular vibrational and
rotational energy levels 15
4.1.3 Reference Methods
Many methods are available for measuring air pollutant concentration,
and new, more rapid, and more accurate and precise methods are
always being developed. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has designated a series of reference methods with which results
from all other methods can be compared. Although the EPA standard
reference methods may not always be the most sensitive, they have been
standardized and have a history of independently duplicated results. Some
reference methods change with each annual edition of the Code of
Federal Regulations. The reader is encouraged to access the EPA
webpage at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/ for the most recent standard
measuring and monitoring methods. The existence of reference methods
is especially important when there is a question of compliance with air
quality standards and when analyzing for hazardous air pollutants
4.1.4 Stack Samples
Stack sampling is an art worthy of individual attention. Sampling of gas
directly from a stack is necessary to evaluate compliance with emission
standards and to determine the efficiency of air pollution control
equipment. In moderate- to large-diameter industrial stacks, when the gas
is exhausted at relatively high temperatures, the concentration of exhaust
gas constituents is not uniform across the gas stream, and the sampler
must take care in getting a representative sample. A thorough survey is
made of the flow, temperature, and pollutant concentration both across
the effluent stream and at various locations within the stack. A train of
instruments, as shown in Fig. below is often used for stack sampling, so
that a number of measurements may be determined at each positioning of
the intake nozzle.
4.1.5 Smoke and Opacity
Visible smoke from a stack is often the only immediate evidence of a
pollution violation external to an industrial source. Effluent gases cannot
be sampled and analyzed without a complicated system that always
involves notifying the emitter, but smoke issuing from a stack can be
seen. The opacity of a smoke plume is thus still the only enforcement
method that may be used without the emitters knowledge (and, often,
cooperation). Therefore, many regulations are still written on the basis of
visually estimated smoke density.
The density of black or gray smoke is measured by visual observation
and estimation of smoke opacity - the amount of light blocked by the
smoke. Although this method might appear to have very large inherent
uncertainty, it has been used enough so that the reproducibility of
observations is fairly reliable.
4.1.6 Conclusion
As with water pollution, the analytical tests of air quality can be only as
good as the samples or sampling techniques used. Moreover, the
prevailing analytical techniques leave much to be desired in both
precision and accuracy. Most measurements of environmental quality,
.including these, are reasonable estimates at best