Week4studyguide.pdf

MEE 6501, Advanced Air Quality Control 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit IV

Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

3. Assess health effects of air pollution.
3.1 Discuss the natural air pollution variables causally related to adverse health effects on humans.
3.2 Discuss the anthropogenic air pollution variables causally related to adverse health effects on

humans.
3.3 Calculate operational air emission rates for a selected scenario.

Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

3.1

Unit Lesson
Chapter 5, pp. 155-197
Chapter 12, pp. 437-459
Unit IV Mini Project

3.2

Unit Lesson
Chapter 5, pp. 155-197
Chapter 12, pp. 437-459
Unit IV Mini Project

3.3

Unit Lesson
Chapter 5, pp. 155-197
Chapter 12, pp. 437-459
Unit IV Mini Project

Reading Assignment

Chapter 5: Health Effects, pp. 155–197

Chapter 12: Environmental Noise, pp. 437–459

Unit Lesson

To date, we have discussed air pollution as being sourced either from natural or anthropogenic forces. In our
reading for this unit, Godish, Davis, and Fu (2014) thoroughly explain the health effects of air pollution as well
as tie together air pollution and noise pollution in a rather unique manner. This strategy of tying together noise
pollution and air pollution deems consideration, perhaps even further than what is presented in our reading.

Health Effects

One of the interesting points that you may note as you progress through this program is that much of what is
considered a pollutant to humans is actually already present in nature rather than synthesized. This includes
some of what is mentioned in our unit reading, such as aerosols (ocean spray), hydrocarbons (petroleum
oils), oxides of nitrogen (tropical forests), ozone (elevated atmospheres), and heavy metals (e.g., lead,
mercury, cadmium, chromium) (Godish et al., 2014; Phalen & Phalen, 2013). A question could then be posed
as to why or how natural phenomena, energy sources, tropospheric nitrogen compounds, and naturally
occurring elements are available as environmental pollutants when in the presence of other ecological or
human life. This is an important consideration, given that most of the time we may be asked to only engineer
ambient air quality back to levels found to be at a state of climax in nature.

UNIT IV STUDY GUIDE

Engineering Air Quality for
Human Health

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The answer to the posed question may be enlightened with a closer consideration as to how humans interact
within the environment. This includes anthropogenic acts, such as exposing elemental sulfur through mining
operations to rainfall events, thereby allowing an unmitigated exposure of the sulfur to water and creating
sulfuric acid (H2SO4) (Hill & Feigl, 1987). Another example might be over-stocking cattle in a confined animal
feeding operation (CAFO), thereby allowing an unmitigated concentration of methane gas into the immediate
environment (impacting both ambient air and confined animal space air) that might otherwise be more evenly
distributed in a range-grazing situation (Withgott & Brennan, 2011).

As such, the answer to balancing anthropogenic and natural variables, causally related to air quality, lies with
our ability to engineer systems that work to minimize anthropogenic forces upon nature. This systems
approach affords us the opportunity to control the air environment just enough to allow natural variables to
only minimally impact humans, while allowing anthropogenic variables to only minimally impact nature
(ecology). The challenge for the air quality engineer is to understand the air emission potential of all variables
in given situations. He or she must then engineer the anthropogenic systems (such as within our course
project scenarios) in such a manner that allows for the natural variables’ air emissions, even while mitigating
exposures of those emissions to humans and the surrounding ecology.

For example, we understand that hydrocarbon oils and solids have the natural potential to emit volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), even without human interaction in nature (Godish et al., 2014). However, we
also see the use of hydrocarbon compounds in synthetic products, such as interior coating materials and
other paint products, and subsequently incorporate those hydrocarbons into our synthetic product designs.
The engineer’s job then becomes one of learning to forecast and quantify the natural emission rates of the
VOCs from the hydrocarbon compounds contained as ingredients in the synthetic paint products. Once the
VOC emission rates have been forecasted for a given product, the work system (such as the course project
scenarios) can be evaluated for subsequent impacts to the ambient air environment and human health, alike.
This often requires the air quality engineer to calculate emission rates into several different units of measure,
to include poundage of VOC per product, poundage of VOC per hour of work exposure, poundage of VOC
per year, and even tonnage of VOC per year. As such, the air quality engineer is pragmatically taking
something rather obscure like vapor and converting the VOC into something tangible as units of mass. When
the VOC is converted into tangible units of mass as pounds or tons, the statistical forecasting mathematics
becomes possible, and consequently manageable, within the work system.

This concept of converting pollutants as abstract concentrations (or even percent by weight, as is common in
industrial hygiene measurements) into tangible units of mass-based concentration like parts per million (ppm)
or parts per billion (ppb) then becomes the air quality engineer’s primary unit of evaluation for airborne
pollutants. This is because ppm (as mg/L) and ppb (ug/L) can be expressed as units of mass-based
concentration for almost any air pollutant represented (Phalen & Phalen, 2013).

Air quality assessments get even more interesting once the air quality engineer considers that noise may be
treated appropriately as a form of either atmospheric or ambient pollution. Godish et al. (2014) demonstrate
this with their argument that sound energy causally related to noise is transmitted largely through the air
environment. Suddenly, we find the need to also measure air quality through measures of dimensionless units
of decibels (dB), in to adequately evaluate air quality impacts on human health.

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Consequently, engineered air quality that is focused on protecting human health, through minimizing impacts
of our anthropogenic activities, must be considered a critical aspect of our work system variables. As we may
recall from our Unit I material, even aerosols in the ambient air have the ability to refract (bend) light waves
(Godish et al., 2014). In much the same way, air pollutants may serve to refract or reflect sound waves. In
stark contrast, noise levels may serve as air pollutants to ambient environments of interest, such as
residential, commercial, or recreational sites.

Noise Pollution

Godish et al. (2014) spend a
determined amount of time explaining
the human health effects of noise
pollution within our ambient air
environment, to include both
biological processes as well as
psychophysiological processes. This
is in addition to the well-anticipated
hearing impairment problems
regarded as being associated with
noise pollution. Closely consider the
quantitative measurement techniques
discussed within this unit as they relate to noise pollution, and be ready to incorporate them as a final
consideration during your Unit VII work within the course project. While an actual Title V Air Permit process
may not yet specifically address noise pollution (the over-arching permit associated with the Permit by Rule
(PBR) evaluation document for our project), we will still include it in our permit application process.

In our course project, we refer again to our tabulated data for the scenario information. Specifically, we take
note of our “units per day” that will be processed, as well as our “hours per day” and “days per week” for each
process. Finally, we refer back to our calculated values of 28.0 lb VOC/unit of coating and 1.0 lb ES/unit that
we derived in our Unit III work. We will now use the following steps to calculate our hourly VOC quantities for
our air permit evaluation document. These calculated values will collectively serve as our operational air
emission rates for our PBR evaluation document.

First, we reference our scenario for the tabulated information on the coating, lining, and curing process (these
comprise the entire painting process, in general), as well as our calculated values from our Unit III work (28.0
lb VOC/unit coating). Then we multiply our calculated 28.0 lb VOC/unit coating by the number of units/day to
derive a value for lb VOC/day. Finally, we multiply our lb VOC/day by the tabulated 1 day/hours to derive a
value for lb VOC/hour.

Note the following example for our Unit III calculated value of 28.0 lb VOC/unit coating and a given 3 units/day
and a process of 8 hours/day [Note: The actual scenario tabulated data is 2 units/day and a process of 5
hours/day]:

VOC/hour (in lb) = lb VOC/unit coating x units/day

= 28.0 lb VOC/unit x 3 units/day

= 84.0 lb VOC/day

84.0 lb VOC/day x 1 day/8 hours

= 10.5 lb VOC/hour

Second, we reference our scenario for the tabulated information on the painting process as well as our
calculated values from our Unit III work (1.0 lb ES/unit coating). Then, we multiply our calculated 1.0 lb
Exempt Solvent (ES)/unit by the number of units/day to derive a value for lb ES/day. Finally, we multiply our lb
ES/day by 1 day/hours to derive a value for lb ES/hour.

Note the following example for our Unit III calculated value of 1.0 lb ES/unit coating and a given 3 units/day
and a process of 8 hours/day [Note: The actual scenario tabulated data is 2 units/day and a process of 5
hours/day]:

Figure 1. Effects of noise pollution
(Vaeenma, n.d.)

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ES/hour (in lb) = lb ES/unit coating x units/day

= 1.0 lb ES/unit x 3 units/day

= 3.0 lb ES/day

3.0 lb ES/day x 1 day/8 hours

= 0.375 lb ES/hour

Third, we reference our scenario for the tabulated information on the painting process. Then, we multiply our
calculated lb VOC/day of coating by days/week to derive a value for lb VOC/week. Now, we multiply our lb
VOC/week by 52 weeks/year to derive a value for lb VOC/year. As a final step, we multiply our lb VOC/year
by 1 ton/2,000 lbs to derive a value for tons VOC/year.

Note the following example for our calculated value of 84.0 lb VOC/day and a given 5 days/week [Note: The
actual scenario tabulated data is 4 days/week with an actual Unit 3 data calculated value of 28.0 lb x 2 units =
56.0 lb VOC/day]:

Finally, we multiply our lb ES/day by days/week to derive a value for lb ES/week. Now, we multiply our lb
ES/week by 52 weeks/year to derive a value for lb ES/year. We then finish by multiplying our lb ES/year by 1
ton/2,000 lbs to derive a value for tons ES/year.

For example, for our calculated value of 3.0 lb ES/day and a given 5 days/week [Note: The actual scenario
tabulated data is 4 days/week with an actual Unit 3 data calculated value of 1.0 lb x 2.0 units = 2.0 lb ES/day]:

Reviewing the tabulated state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) PBR limits, we are reminded that
we have already calculated our VOC/5-hour average period for emissions, multiplying our lb VOC/day by 1
day/5 hours (but calculated as 8 hours on the example calculation) to derive lb VOC/5-hour (averaged over a
5-hour period). As such, the VOC/5-hour average value equals the calculated VOC/hour value calculated in
our first step (second calculation), above.

Further, reviewing the tabulated state DEQ PBR limits, we are reminded that we have also previously
calculated our potential to emit (PTE) by multiplying our lb VOC/week by 52 weeks/year and converting it to
tons to derive tons VOC/year (PTE). As such, the PTE value equals the calculated VOC/year value calculated
in our third step (and the third calculation in that step), above.

The good news in this final calculation is that if the PTE does not meet or exceed the 100 tons VOC/year limit,
you, as the engineer, may continue to move forward with the Permit by Rule (PBR) calculations instead of
having to stop immediately and pursue a full Title V Air Quality operating permit! However, we may find that
we need to recommend additional engineering controls in to say in compliance with the VOC/5-hour
average limits.

VOC/year (in tons) = lb VOC/day coating x days/week

= 84.0 lb VOC/day x 5 days/week

= 420.0 lb VOC/week

420.0 lb VOC/week x 52 weeks/year

= 21,840.0 lb VOC/year

21,840.0 lb VOC/year x 1 ton/2,000 lb

= 10.92 tons VOC/year

ES/year (in tons) = lb ES/day x days/week

= 3.0 lb ES/day x 5 days/week

= 15.0 lb ES/week

15.0 lb ES/week x 52 weeks/year

= 780.0 lb ES/year

780.0 lb ES/year x 1 ton/2,000 lb

= 0.39 tons ES/year

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References

Godish, T., Davis, W. T., & Fu, J. S. (2014). Air quality (5th ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Hill, J., & Feigl, D. (1987). Chemistry and life: An introduction to general, organic, and biological life (3rd ed.).

New York, NY: Macmillan.

Phalen, R. F., & Phalen, R. N. (2013). Introduction to air pollution science: A public health perspective.

Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Vaneema. (n.d.). Effects of noise pollution, (ID 85671605) [Diagram]. Retrieved from

https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-effects-noise-pollution-diagram-image85671605

Withgott, J. H., & Brennan. S. R. (2011). Environment: The science behind the stories (4th ed.). San

Francisco, CA: Pearson.