Fort Air Partnership Ambient Air Monitoring Network 2010 Annual Technical Report Network and Data Summary

Transcription

1 Fort Air Partnership Ambient Air Monitoring Network 2010 Annual Technical Report Network and Data Summary FAP Technical Working Group March 30, 2011

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3 Executive Summary Network overview During 2010 Fort Air Partnership (FAP) operated nine continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations. Of these nine, Station 401-Josephburg Road was in operation from Jan March 2010 and Bruderheim Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) Station was operated from April December At the end of 2010, parameters measured in the FAP network on a continuous basis included: Sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) Hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S) Nitrogen oxides (NO, NO x, and NO 2 ) Total hydrocarbons (THC) Non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) Methane (CH 4 ) Ammonia (NH 3 ) Carbon monoxide (CO) Ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) Ground level ozone (O 3 ) Respirable particulates (PM 2.5 ) Inhalable particulates (PM 10 ) Benzene (C 6 H 6 ) Toluene (C 6 H 5 CH 3 ) Ethylbenzene (C 6 H 5 CH 2 CH 3 ) 3 Xylene (C 6 H 4 (CH 3 ) 2 (Total of o-, m-, and p-isomers) Styrene (C 6 H 5 CH=CH 3 ) Barometric pressure (BP) Relative humidity (RH) Ambient Temperature (T) Wind Speed and Direction (WS and WD) FAP continued to operate a regional passive monitoring network in 2010, monitoring for sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), ozone (O 3 ) and hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S). Five new passive monitoring sites were added in June, bringing the total to 62 sites. Network Changes in 2010 FAP made several improvements to the infrastructure and equipment in the monitoring network in Station 401-Josephburg Road was decommissioned at the end of March 2010, and the ethylene monitor was moved to Ross Creek. The monitors for oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons, and wind speed and direction were moved to the new monitoring FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March 2011 i

4 station in the Town of Bruderheim. New monitoring for sulphur dioxide, ozone, and fine particulate matter were also added to this station. FAP replaced older monitors for oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide and ozone at the Elk Island AQM Station, with new ones acquired through the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) monitoring program. In May, FAP installed a new Synchronized Hybrid Ambient Real-time Particulate (SHARP) monitor at the Fort Saskatchewan station to comply with new NAPS monitoring standards. A precipitation collector was installed at Elk Island Park to collect precipitation samples for analysis for Alberta Environment s acid deposition monitoring program. Five new H 2 S and SO 2 passive monitoring sites were added to comply with new approval requirements. The new sites were selected to further populate FAP s passive monitoring grid plan. New O 3 and NO 2 passive samplers were added to several passive monitoring sites. Air Quality Events and Exceedances Summary There were several exceedances of Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives (AAAQO) in the FAP network during Ammonia: One 1-hour AAAQO exceedance at Ross Creek, source assigned to local industry. SO 2 : Forty-two 1-hour AAAQO exceedances and six 24-hour exceedances were reported at Redwater Industrial throughout the year. Many of them occurred in December, source assigned to local industry. NO 2 : One 1-hour AAAQO exceedance at Redwater Industrial, local industry source (perhaps from idling trucks staged in the area). PM 2.5 : There were thirty-nine 24-hour AAAQO exceedances throughout the network and hr Guideline exccedances. Most of the events were regional and observed at multiple stations. o January 2010: AAAQO exceedances were reported at Lamont County, Fort Saskatchewan, and Redwater Industrial AQM Stations. o February 2010: AAAQO Exceedance was reported at Lamont County. PM 2.5 concentrations were elevated regionally. o May 2010: 1-hr exceedances were reported at all stations, and one 24- hr exceedance at Redwater Industrial due to smoke from local brush fires at Opal, AB. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March 2011 ii

5 o August 2010: Twenty-two 24-hour PM 2.5 AAAQO exceedances and hr exceedances occurred over several days at all FAP stations due to smoke from British Columbia forest fires. o November 2010: Two 1-hr exceedances at two different stations. o December 2010: Twelve 24-hour PM 2.5 AAAQO exceedances and 22 1-hr exceedances were reported across the region. FAP did not identify a specific cause. Air Quality Index Summary The Air Quality Index was reported from four stations in 2010: Air Quality Index in FAP region in 2010 Station Name AQI Hours Monitor ed Good (AQI 0-25) Fair (AQI 26-50) Poor (AQI ) Very Poor (AQI >100) % Hours % Hours % Hours % Hours Bruderheim Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County * AQI hourly ratings may not add up to 100 due to rounding. 1 Bruderheim reported for part of a year FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March 2011 iii

6 Table of Contents Executive Summary... i Network overview... i Network Changes in i Air Quality Events and Exceedances Summary... ii Air Quality Index Summary... iii List of Tables... ii List of Figures... iii Abbreviations... iv Units of Measurement... v Introduction... 1 The FAP Organization (2010)... 1 The Technical Working Group... 2 Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Program Continuous Monitoring Network... 3 Network Overview... 3 Continuous Monitoring and Reporting Requirements... 5 Evaluating the Network Monitoring Objectives... 5 Continuous Monitoring Site Descriptions... 9 Monitoring Station Coordinates...14 Continuous Monitoring Methods...14 Data Acquisition Procedures...17 Data Quality Control Procedures...17 Data Validation Processes...18 Compliance Reporting Protocol...18 Data Reporting Protocol...19 Continuous Monitoring Performance Measures...20 Continuous Monitoring Uptime...20 CASA Data Submission Timeliness Report...20 CASA Data Warehouse Data Quality Assessment Station Audit Passive Monitoring Network...23 Passive Monitoring Description FAP Passive Monitoring Network...24 Passive Monitoring Site Selection...24 Passive Monitoring for Compliance to EPEA Approvals Monitoring Results Exceedances Summary Ambient Air Monitoring Data Continuous Monitoring Results...30 Air Quality Index (AQI)...30 Carbon Monoxide...32 Sulphur Dioxide...33 Oxides of Nitrogen...36 FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March 2011 i

7 Hydrogen Sulphide...39 Ozone...41 Inhalable and Respirable Particulates (PM 10 and PM 2.5 )...43 Ammonia...45 Hydrocarbons...47 Ethylene...49 Other Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Passive Monitoring Results...52 Sulphur Dioxide...52 Hydrogen Sulphide...54 Nitrogen Dioxide...55 Ozone...57 Other Technical Airshed Programs and Activities...59 Action toward Regional Airshed Monitoring...59 Monitoring Network Assessment Plans...59 PM&O 3 Management and the Capital Airshed Partnership (CAP)...60 Appendices...61 Appendix B: FAP Monitoring Objectives...62 Appendix C: Technical Working Group Members...71 Technical Working Group Members...72 Appendix D: Monitoring Stations and Corresponding Approvals...78 Table D-1: FAP monitoring stations and corresponding EPEA Approvals (Dec. 31, 2010)...79 Table D-2: Industry Participants in FAP (Dec. 31, 2010)...80 Appendix E: AMD Annual Reporting Requirements...81 List of Tables Table 1: FAP continuous monitoring stations and parameters Table 2: Continuous monitoring station locations...14 Table 3: Continuous monitoring methods, limits, and sampling details (Dec 31, 2010)...15 Table 4: Network Average Uptime (percent)...20 Table 5: Data On-time submission to CASA Data Warehouse, Table 6: FAP Passive monitoring sites in Table 7: Passive Monitoring Compliance Requirements (December 31, 2010)...27 Table 8: AAAQO exceedances in FAP airshed...28 Table 9: Air Quality Index as Calculated in Alberta...30 Table 10: Air Quality Index in FAP region in Table 11: Fort Saskatchewan monthly average CO concentrations (ppm) in Table 12: Fort Saskatchewan annual average CO concentrations (ppm) - historical...32 Table 13: Number of CO exceedances in FAP Airshed - historical...32 Table 14: Annual average and one-hour maximum SO 2 concentrations (ppb), with percentiles (2010)...33 Table 15: Monthly average SO 2 concentrations (ppb) in Table 16: Monthly maximum SO 2 concentrations (ppb) in Table 17: Annual average SO 2 concentrations (ppb) - historical...34 Table 18: Number of SO 2 exceedances in FAP Airshed - historical...35 FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March 2011 ii

8 Table 19: Annual average and one-hour maximum NO 2 concentrations (ppb), with percentiles (2010)...36 Table 20: Monthly average concentrations of NO 2 (ppb) in Table 21: Monthly maximum one-hour concentration of NO 2 (ppb) in Table 22: Number of NO 2 exceedances of AAAQO in FAP airshed...37 Table 23: Historical NO 2 annual averages (ppb):...38 Table 24: Annual average and one-hour maximum H 2 S concentrations (ppb), with percentiles (2010)...39 Table 25: Monthly average H 2 S (ppb) at continuous monitoring stations (2010)...39 Table 26: Monthly maximum H 2 S (ppb) at continuous monitoring stations (2010)...39 Table 27: H 2 S exceedances table...40 Table 28: Monthly average ozone concentrations (ppb) in Table 29: Monthly maximum Ozone concentration (ppb) in Table 30: Annual average PM 2.5 concentrations (g/m 3 ), with percentiles (2010)...43 Table 31: Average Hourly Particulate Matter (g/m 3 ) in Table 32: Maximum Hourly Particulate Matter (g/m 3 ) in Table 33: Annual average and maximum Ammonia concentrations (ppb), with percentiles (2010)..45 Table 34: Monthly average ammonia concentrations (ppb) in Table 35: Maximum 1-hr ammonia concentrations (ppb) in 2010, by month...46 Table 36: Historical annual average NH 3 trends (ppb)...46 Table 37: Average Hydrocarbons (ppm) in Table 38: Monthly average ethylene (ppb) in Table 39: Maximum 1-hour average concentration ethylene (ppb) 2010, by month...49 Table 40: BTEX/S monitoring results Table 41: 2010 Passive Monitoring Monthly Average: SO2 (ppb)...52 Table 42: 2010 Passive Monitoring Monthly Average: SO2 (ppb)...54 Table 43: 2010 Passive monitoring data: NO 2 (ppb)...55 Table 44: 2010 Passive Monitoring Data: Ozone (ppb)...57 List of Figures Figure 1: Monitoring sites at December 31, Figure 2: Map Detail: FAP monitoring in the vicinity of industry sites... 8 Figure 3: Passive Monitor in the field...23 Figure 4: One-hour THC station comparison, late Figure 5: Passive monitoring: 2010 Annual average concentration: SO 2 (ppb)...53 Figure 6: Passive monitoring: 2010 average concentration: NO 2 (ppb)...56 Figure 7: Passive monitoring: 2010 average concentration: Ozone (ppb)...58 FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March 2011 iii

9 Abbreviations 24-hours AAAQG AAAQO AENV AMD AQM BTEX/S Calm CAP CASA CH 4 CWS EPEA FAP H2S MST NAPS NMHC NH 3 NO2 NO NOx NO y OMP O 3 PM10 PM2.5 QA/QC A calendar day, beginning at midnight Alberta Ambient Air Quality Guideline Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objective Alberta Environment Air Monitoring Directive, 1989 and 2006 Amendments to the Air Monitoring Directive (AMD 2006) Air Quality Monitoring Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and styrene 1-hour average wind speed is lower than 5 km/hour Capital Airshed Partnership Clean Air Strategic Alliance Methane Canada-Wide Standard Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (Alberta) Fort Air Partnership Hydrogen sulphide Mountain Standard Time National Air Pollution Surveillance Non-methane hydrocarbons Ammonia Nitrogen dioxide Nitric oxide Oxides of nitrogen Reactive oxides of nitrogen Ozone Management Plan Ground level ozone Particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 µm in diameter, referred to as inhalable particles Particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 µm in diameter, referred to as respirable particles Quality assurance / quality control FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March 2011 iv

10 SO2 THC VOC WD WS Sulphur dioxide Total hydrocarbons Volatile organic compound Wind direction Wind speed Units of Measurement µg/m 3 km/hr ppb ppm micrograms per cubic meter kilometers per hour parts per billion by volume parts per million by volume FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March 2011 v

11 Introduction The FAP Organization (2010) The Fort Air Partnership (FAP) is a registered not-for-profit society established in 1997 to operate an air quality monitoring network in a 4,500 square kilometre area northeast of Edmonton that includes Fort Saskatchewan, Gibbons, Bon Accord, Bruderheim, Lamont, Redwater, Waskatenau, Thorhild, and Elk National Island Park. In November 2000, FAP became the fourth airshed in Alberta recognized by the Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA). FAP is a multi-stakeholder group with members from industry, government, and the public. FAP members see the benefit of sitting down together and working through issues in order to fulfill its mission. The FAP Board holds monthly meetings that are open to the public. Decisions of the Board and its committees are made by consensus. As part of the overall business planning process, the Vision and the Mission statements of the organization were reviewed and modified in FAP s updated vision is Public, industry and government have a clear shared understanding of ambient air quality in the region. The organization s mission has also been revised as follows; To operate a regional network to monitor and report credible and comprehensive ambient air quality information. During 2010 FAP continued to evolve toward a governance organizational structure, with the Board of Directors establishing policy and direction for the organization, and contracted staff and committees managing the operational details in accordance with the set direction. FAP continued to operate with several committees: an Executive Committee, a Technical Working Group (TWG), a Communications Committee and a Governance Committee, which all make recommendations to the FAP Board. FAP s operations are managed by an Executive Director, with staff consisting of a Technical Director, a Communications Director, an Administrative Assistant, and a contracted air monitoring service provider who performs monitoring equipment maintenance, calibration, and data reporting. Fort Air Partnership s monitoring and communications programs are funded by the Northeast Capital Industrial Association, Alberta Environment, Alberta s Industrial Heartland Association, and by others through projectspecific grants. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

12 The Technical Working Group The TWG is primarily responsible for oversight of the implementation and operation of the monitoring network and provides technical guidance to FAP. The TWG regularly meets to review the data and the network operation to ensure that appropriate protocols are in place to assure data quality. TWG members represent a wide range of technical air quality roles from industry, Environment Canada, Alberta Environment, government health agencies, FAP s primary monitoring contractor, and members of the public. Committee members have substantial combined experience including monitoring technology, analysis, laboratory, quality systems, and regulatory reporting. Additionally, the TWG membership draws upon outside expertise from industry, air quality consultants, academia and government. Members of the TWG collaborate with other air monitoring agencies in Alberta and Canada. A list of TWG committee members on December 31, 2010 can be found in Appendix C. Lists of industry approval holders participating in FAP, as required in many cases by Environmental and Protection Enhancement Act (EPEA) approval clauses, can be found in Appendix D. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

13 Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Program 2010 Continuous Monitoring Network Network Overview During 2010 Fort Air Partnership (FAP) operated nine continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations in an area northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Seven of the stations operated for the entire year, one was decommissioned during the year and another was commissioned during Five stations were established as compliance stations, with locations and parameters specified in regulatory industrial approvals, with a primary objective to monitor ambient air quality in the immediate vicinity of petrochemical and refinery facilities. These stations are Range Road 220 AQM Station, Ross Creek AQM Station, Scotford 2 AQM Station, and Redwater Industrial AQM Station. Station 401-Josephburg Road AQM Station operated for the first three months of the year, but was decommissioned at the end of March and equipment was redeployed in the Bruderheim AQM Station and at Ross Creek AQM Station. Lamont County AQM Station operates as a compliance station, required by regulatory approval, but unlike the other compliance stations, Lamont County is not in close proximity to an industry site. The primary monitoring objective of this station is to monitor the effects of multiple emission sources on air quality. The Fort Saskatchewan AQM Station is located in the City of Fort Saskatchewan. This station has a long history of operation by Alberta Environment and is part of the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) monitoring network. The primary objective of this station is to monitor ambient air quality where people live, to provide trending information, and for compliance to Alberta s Ambient Air Quality Objectives (AAAQOs) and Canada-Wide Standards. Elk Island AQM Station is located in a National Park and also is part of the NAPS monitoring network. The primary objective of this station is to monitor air quality in a protected area that is downwind of a major Canadian city and near two Industrial clusters. FAP s newest station was commissioned in Bruderheim in April/May The primary objective for this station is to monitor ambient air quality where people live. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

14 Parameters measured in the FAP network on a continuous basis include: Sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) Hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S) Nitrogen oxides (NO, NO x, and NO 2 ) Total hydrocarbons (THC) Non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) Methane (CH 4 ) Ammonia (NH 3 ) Carbon monoxide (CO) Ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) Ground level ozone (O 3 ) Respirable particulates (PM 2.5 ) Inhalable particulates (PM 10 ) Benzene (C 6 H 6 ) Toluene (C 6 H 5 CH 3 ) Ethylbenzene (C 6 H 5 CH 2 CH 3 ) 3 Xylene (C 6 H 4 (CH 3 ) 2 (Total of o-, m-, and p-isomers) Styrene (C 6 H 5 CH=CH 3 ) Barometric pressure (BP) Relative humidity (RH) Ambient Temperature (T) Wind Speed and Direction (WS and WD) The parameters that are monitored at each station are shown in Table 1. Monitoring sites are mapped in Figures 1 and 2. FAP also operates a passive monitoring network with sites that measure monthly average concentrations of SO 2, O 3, NO 2 and H 2 S. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

15 Continuous Monitoring and Reporting Requirements FAP s monitoring and reporting program was originally designed to meet licensing requirements of industrial facilities in the region, with Alberta Environment s Fort Saskatchewan AQM Station and Elk Island AQM Station added to form a monitoring network. Monitoring protocols were structured to meet the requirements of Alberta Environment s Air Monitoring Directive, 1989 and 2006 Amendment. Several industrial facilities hold Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) approvals and are required to perform ambient air quality monitoring as part of their conditions to operate. Until recently, very prescriptive monitoring requirements have been detailed in industrial approvals; they specified the parameters monitored and the monitoring locations (usually very near the industrial facility). The FAP continuous monitoring stations, with the corresponding Approval holders that were in effect during 2010 are listed in Appendix D. Evaluating the Network Monitoring Objectives Prior to 2009, the primary monitoring objective for the majority of FAP s monitoring stations was to monitor for compliance purposes, meeting the regulatory needs of EPEA Approval holders. New approvals clauses have allowed FAP the flexibility and responsibility to define monitoring objectives for the stations that it operates. In order to efficiently use resources and evaluate the effectiveness of the FAP monitoring network, it is important to first define the monitoring objectives for the network, and then assess the monitoring network s effectiveness to achieve the monitoring objectives. The FAP TWG has begun to redefine the monitoring objectives of the network. Broad categories of monitoring objectives are to: Establish regulatory compliance Evaluate population exposure to air pollutants Understand historical trends Track spatial distribution of pollutants Characterize geographic locations or sources Inform air quality management activities Validate data quality The monitoring objectives and development of longer-view network monitoring plans will be more fully developed after obtaining feedback from a monitoring network assessment in FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

16 Table 1: FAP continuous monitoring stations and parameters 2010 Redwater Industrial Lamont County Scotford 2 Ross Creek Fort Saskatche wan Range Road 220 Station 401 (through March 2010) Bruderhm (start April 2010) Elk Island Wind speed and wind direction Air temperature Relative humidity Barometric pressure Ammonia (NH 3) Carbon monoxide (CO) Ethylene (C 2H 4) Ground-level ozone (O 3) Total hydrocarbons (THC) Non-methane hydrocarbons (n(nmhc). Methane (CH 4) Hydrogen sulphide (H 2S) Oxides of Nitrogen (NO x) Nitric oxide (NO) Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) Inhalable particulates (PM 10) Respirable particulates (PM 2.5) Sulphur dioxide (SO 2) Benzene (C 6H 6) Toluene (C 7H 8) Ethylbenzene (C 8H 10) Xylene (C 24H 30) Styrene (C 8H 8) FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

17 Figure 1: Monitoring sites at December 31, 2010 To find a clear, multi-layer, fine resolution map of the airshed that you can download and view self-selected layers, visit FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

18 Figure 2: Map Detail: FAP monitoring in the vicinity of industry sites Strathcona Industrial Area 46. Suncor Energy Inc (a,b,c) 47. Air Products 48. Rio Tinto-Alcan 49. Gibson Energy (a,b) 50. Pembina Pipeline Corp. 51. Kinder Morgan 52. Enbridge Pipelines (a,b) 53. Alberta Envirofuels 54. Imperial Oil (Strathcona) 55. Scaw -AltaSteel Ltd. Alberta s Industrial Heartland Area 1. Agrium (Redwater) 2. Access Pipeline (a,b) 3. Evonik Degussa 4. Provident Energy (a,b) 5. Shell Canada (a,b) 6. Shell Chemicals 7. Air Liquide 8. Suncor 9. Gulf Chemicals 10. Enbridge Stonefell 11. Atco Gas 12. Altalink LP 13. Canexus 14. Triton 15. Canadian Heartland Real Estate 16. Keyera (a,b) 17. PetroGas 18. BP Canada 19. Dow Chemical 20. Praxair 21. Sherritt 22. Agrium (Ft Saskatchewan) 23. Bunge Canada 24. Canadian Bioenergy 25. Sturgeon Industrial Park Continuous Monitoring Stations 1. Redwater Industrial 2. Elk Island 3. Fort Saskatchewan 4. Scotford 5. Ross Creek 6. Range Rd Station Lamont 9. Scotford Bruderheim 11. Hwy 21 TWP 534 Passive Monitoring Station FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

19 Continuous Monitoring Site Descriptions Elk Island AQM Station Primary monitoring objective: To understand the air quality impacts of a large Canadian city on a protected area. For a complete list of monitoring objectives, see table in Appendix B. Continuous parameters monitored: PM 2.5, SO 2, ground level ozone, NO/NOx/NO 2, wind speed and wind direction. The station also reports Air Quality Index. FAP has been operating this station and reporting data to the CASA data warehouse since January This station was designated a National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) station in Site Description: This station is located within the boundaries of Elk Island National Park, between the administration building and Astotin Lake, near the west entrance to the park. It is an open area, with some shrubs and small trees nearby. Station Changes (2010): During 2010, FAP replaced older monitors for NO/NOx/NO 2, SO 2 and O 3 with new monitors acquired through the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) monitoring program. The measurement study for reactive oxides of nitrogen (NOy) was ended. In November 2010, a wet acid deposition monitoring site was added to collect precipitation samples for Alberta Environment s acid deposition monitoring program. Fort Saskatchewan AQM Station Primary monitoring objective: To monitor air quality where people live and to establish air quality compliance to the AAAQOs. With the longest operational history and data record in the FAP network, it is an important station for understanding historical trends. It is a designated NAPS station. For a complete list of monitoring objectives, see table in Appendix B. Continuous parameters monitored: Ammonia, carbon monoxide, ground level ozone, hydrogen sulphide, NO/NOx/NO 2, PM 2.5, SO 2, wind speed and direction. The station also reports Air Quality Index. Site description: This station is in the Airshed s largest population center (population: 15,000). It is located FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

20 adjacent to a residential area of the City of Fort Saskatchewan near 92 nd Street and 96 th Avenue, 80 metres west of Highway 15, a major traffic artery, with an annual average daily traffic count (2008) of 16,140 vehicles per day (Alberta Transportation, FAP has been operating this station and reporting data to the CASA data warehouse since January 2003, although data is available from the CASA Data Warehouse back to Station changes (2010): In May 2010, FAP installed a new Federal Equivalent Method Synchronized Hybrid Ambient Real-time Particulate (SHARP 5030) PM 2.5 monitor at the Fort Saskatchewan AQM station to comply with NAPS standards. Lamont County AQM Station Primary monitoring objective: To understand impacts of multiple pollutant sources in the region, which may include sources from Alberta s Industrial Heartland and from Strathcona industrial area, as well as from other sources in the City of Edmonton. This site was selected because modeling indicated that this elevated area of the region may experience higher concentrations of SO 2. For a complete list of monitoring objectives, see table in Appendix B. Continuous parameters monitored: ozone, PM 2.5, PM 10, SO 2, H 2 S, NO/NOx/NO 2, methane and non-methane hydrocarbons, relative humidity, wind speed and direction. The site reports Air Quality Index. FAP has been operating this station and reporting data to the CASA data warehouse since January Site description: This station is located in a rural area in a hay field, several kilometres away from industrial facilities and other large pollutant sources, approximately 6 km east of the town of Lamont. The station is on a hill (elevation 723 meters), 1.5 kilometers south of Highway 15, 250 metres west of Range Road 202. Station changes (2010): New O 3 and H 2 S analyzers replaced older devices in early A hydrogen generator was installed to provide a safe source of hydrogen for the hydrocarbons monitor. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

21 Range Road 220 AQM Station Primary monitoring objective: To monitor the impacts of local industrial emissions on air quality. For a complete list of monitoring objectives, see table in Appendix B. Continuous parameters monitored: Ammonia, ethylene, total hydrocarbons, non-methane hydrocarbons, NO/NOx/NO 2, SO 2, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction. Site description: This site was originally a compliance station, shared among several industrial approval holders but is now operated as a FAP regional station. It is located in an open area along the facility fence line east of the Dow Chemical ethylene production facilities. FAP has been operating this station and reporting data to the CASA data warehouse since January Station changes (2010): A new structure was ordered to replace the old one and will be installed in early Redwater Industrial AQM Station Primary monitoring objective: To monitor the impacts of local industrial emissions on air quality. Further monitoring objectives are listed in Appendix B. Continuous parameters monitored: ammonia, NO/NOx/NO 2, PM 2.5, SO 2, ambient temperature at 2m and 10m, relative humidity, wind speed and direction. Site description: The station is located adjacent to the truck loading area along the western fence line of the Agrium Redwater Fertilizer Plant, adjacent to Highway 643. It is approximately twelve kilometres south of the community of Redwater, Alberta. FAP has been operating this station and reporting data to the CASA data warehouse since Station changes (2010): Precipitation monitoring was no longer a site requirement and was removed in FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

22 Ross Creek AQM Station Primary monitoring objective: To monitor the impacts of local industrial emissions on air quality. Ross Creek AQM Station is an EPEA compliance station, shared among several industrial Approval holders (see tables in Appendix C for details). For a complete list of monitoring objectives, see table in Appendix B. Continuous parameters monitored: Ammonia, NO/NOx/NO 2, SO 2, ethylene, barometric pressure, solar radiation, temperature at 2 metres and 10 metres, vertical wind speed, wind speed and direction. Site description: The station is located west of the Sherritt Fort Saskatchewan site, between the industrial facility and the City of Fort Saskatchewan. FAP has been operating this station and reporting data to the CASA data warehouse since January Station changes (2010): The ethylene monitor from the decommissioned Station 401- Josephburg Road was moved to Ross Creek during Scotford 2 AQM Station Primary objective: To monitor the impacts of local industrial emissions on air quality. The Scotford 2 station is an EPEA compliance station, shared among four industrial Approval holders (see Tables in Appendix C for details). For a complete list of monitoring objectives, see table in Appendix B. Continuous parameters monitored: H 2 S, SO 2, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (o-, m- and p- isomers), styrene, wind speed and direction, ambient temperature. In August and September 2010, a short-term methane monitoring study was done to try to understand possible local biogenic sources of methane and H 2 S. Site description: The monitoring site is located to the east of industrial facilities, and to the south of the proposed BA Upgrader on Range Road 213, just south of Township Road 560. The station is located on an open area with a slightly undulating landscape. The monitoring station has been operating at this site since late December FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

23 Station 401-Josephburg Road AQM Station (decommissioned March 2010) Primary objective: to monitor the impacts of local industrial emissions on air quality. Initially, Station 401-Josephburg Road AQM Station was an EPEA compliance station, shared among several industrial Approval holders (see tables in Appendix C for details). Continuous parameters measured: NOx/NO2/NO, ammonia, ethylene, wind speed and direction. Site Description: The site was located in an open area within one to two kilometres of industrial facilities and was within 1.6 km of the Ross Creek AQM Station. Station changes (2010): The station was considered a good candidate to decommission in 2010 due to redundancy with similar nearby monitoring. Each of the analyzers in the station has been redeployed more effectively in the Airshed. The justification for this is discussed in Strategy for a New Air Quality Monitoring Station in Bruderheim, Alberta, available at Bruderheim AQM Station (commissioned April 2010) During 2009, FAP received approval from Alberta Environment to more effectively redeploy most of the analyzers from the Station 401-Josephburg Road AQM Station to a new location in the Town of Bruderheim. Monitors for NO/NO 2 /NO x, hydrocarbons and wind were moved from Station 401-Josephburg Road in early April FAP added monitoring for PM 2.5, PM 10, O 3 and SO 2 to the network at Bruderheim during May The station also reports an Air Quality Index. Primary Monitoring Objective: To monitor ambient air quality where people live. For a complete list of monitoring objectives, see tables in Appendix B. Continuous Parameters Monitored: NO/NO 2 /NOx, methane, non-methane and total hydrocarbons, PM 2.5, PM 10, O 3, SO 2, ambient temperature, wind speed and direction. The station also reports the Air Quality Index. Site Description: The station is located near downtown, behind the businesses on Queen Street in the Town of Bruderheim. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

24 Monitoring Station Coordinates Longitude and latitude coordinates for the FAP monitoring stations are found in Table 2. Table 2: Continuous monitoring station locations Monitoring Station Latitude Longitude Bruderheim N W Elk Island N W Fort Saskatchewan N W Lamont County N W Range Road N W Redwater Industrial N W Ross Creek N W Scotford N W Station 401 Josephburg Rd N W Continuous Monitoring Methods Continuous monitoring methods are generally prescribed by the AENV Air Monitoring Directive. Details of the FAP network methods are summarized in Table 3. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

25 Table 3: Continuous monitoring methods, limits, and sampling details (Dec 31, 2010) Parameter Instrument Make and Model Units of Measure Sampling Frequency Range (per Approval) Lower Detection Limit Method Of Detection Calibration Method Sulphur Dioxide (SO 2 ) Teco 43C or 43i ppb or ppm 1-second samples, stored in 1-hour and 1-minute averages ppb or ppm 1 ppb 0.4ppb RMS 0.5ppb RMS Pulsed fluorescence Multipoint mass flow dilution of EPA protocol gas Hydrogen Sulphide (H 2 S) Teco 45C ppb or ppm 1 - second samples, stored in 1-hour and 1-minute averages ppb or ppm 1 ppb 0.4 ppb RMS Pulsed fluorescence with converter Dynamic dilution with compressed gas or permeation device Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) Teco 42C Teco 17C ppb or ppm 1-second samples, stored in 1-hour and 1-minute averages ppb or ppm 0.4 ppb 0.4 ppb 0.5ppb RMS Chem iluminescence Dynamic dilution using compressed gas Ammonia (NH 3 ) Teco 17C ppm 1 - second samples. Data stored in 1 hr, 5 min, and 1 min averages 0-2 ppm or 0-10 ppm 0.4 ppb Chem iluminescence with total nitrogen converter Dynamic dilution using compressed gas Ozone (O 3 ) Teco 49C ppb or ppm 1 - second samples. Data stored in 1 hr, 5 min, and 1 min averages ppb or ppm 1.0 ppb 0.5ppb RMS Ultraviolet photometrics O 3 Reference Bench Carbon Monoxide (CO) Hydrocarbons (MHC - nmhc or THC) Teco 48C TECO 55C ppm ppm 1 - second samples. Data stored in 1 hr, 5 min and 1 min averages Sample cycles occur every 2.5 minutes (24 samples per hour) 0 50 ppm 0.04 ppm 0 20 ppm MHC 0 20 ppm nmhc 0 40 ppm THC 20 ppb Methane 50 ppb nmhc (as propane) Gas filter correlation Gas chromatography Dynamic dilution using compressed gas Dynamic Z/S using compressed gas FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

26 Parameter Particulates PM 2.5 (preheated to 30C) Instrument Make and Model TEOM 1400AB Particulates PM 2.5 SHARP 5030 (at Fort Sask) Units of Measure µg/m 3 µg/m 3 Sampling Frequency 1 - second samples. Data stored in 1 hr, 5 min and 1 min averages Continuous sampling, data stored in 1-min and 1-hr averages Range (per Approval) Lower Detection Limit Method Of Detection µg /m µg /m 3 weighing of sample Continuous filter µg/m µg /m3 attenuation and Hybrid beta nephelometer Calibration Method Pre weighed filter method Factory Particulates PM 2.5 PM 10 Grimm 180 (at Bruderheim) µg/m 3 Continuous sampling, data stored in 1-min and 1-hr averages µg/m µg /m3 Spectrometry Factory Particulates PM 2.5 PM 10 BAM 1020 (Lamont County) µg/m 3 1 hour averages µg /m 3 1 µg /m 3 concentration by Relative beta attenuation Factory Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylene, Styrene Spectras GC955 ppb Sample cycles every 15 minutes (4 samples per hour) 0-100ppb 0.02ppb Gas chromatography with FID detection Dynamic dilution using compressed gas Wind Speed Wind Direction (WS / WD) Met One 0-100km/hr 0.9 km/hr 3 cup 1 - second samples anemometer km/hr data stored in 1 hour, Climatronics degrees Threshold and wind vane 5 min, and 1 min or averages RM Young degrees 0.9 km/hr ultrasonic Known RPM Standard or Factory degrees Temperature Met One 1 - second samples -50 to +50 +/-1 degree Resistance Reference Std Celsius Barometric Vaisalla mmhg Data stored in 1 hour, mmhg +/-2 mmhg Reference Std Pressure 5 min, and 1 min Relative Met One % averages 0 100% +/-1 % Reference Std Humidity FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

27 Data Acquisition Procedures Air quality monitoring instrumentation sends a voltage output to a data logger as soon as it is measured, where the voltage is converted to engineering units. One-minute average and hourly-average data increments are retrieved hourly from the data logger through the internet via microwave polling or by telephone. After the hourly poll, automatic alarm set points trigger a notification to technicians of any data that is outside of a predetermined range, (including levels that might exceed the AAAQOs). The technician will assess the situation and notify Alberta Environment and local facility operators as necessary. Data Quality Control Procedures In order to assure data collection quality and operational uptime, the following general procedures are performed: Gas analyzers are subjected to a zero and single point calibration automatically on a daily basis. A daily review of the data is performed, where results of the daily zero and single point calibration from each analyzer are evaluated. Data is inspected for anomalies and technicians are dispatched to investigate as necessary. The data acquisition system flags data that is outside normal operating ranges for further review. Alarm set-points are automatically triggered for parameters that are subject to regulatory compliance. Each analyzer is subjected to a multi-point calibration on a monthly basis. Calibration reports are retained and copies are submitted to Alberta Environment monthly. Alberta Environment audits each analyzer once a year, verifying that monitoring is performed properly according to the Air Monitoring Directive. Auditors also make suggestions for improvements to the monitoring program. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

28 Data Validation Processes Data validation occurs monthly. FAP uses one-minute data to calculate hourly, daily, and monthly averages. Data is baseline-corrected by interpolation between consecutive valid zero points. Data are plotted and reviewed together, comparing complementary or related parameters within a station. Information in the station logs, the daily zeroes and spans, and calibration reports are considered. Outliers, flat lines and other data irregularities are investigated. Data flags are applied as required. Compliance Reporting Protocol Compliance reporting required by Alberta Environment is accomplished in a number of ways: Exceedances of AAAQOs are reported as soon as they are known to Alberta Environment s Environmental Service Response Centre, and are followed up with further information and a corrective action letter within 7 days, as appropriate. Instrument operational time below 90% in a month is reported to Alberta Environment s Environmental Service Response Centre as soon as it is known, and followed up with further information and a corrective action letter within 7 days as appropriate. An ambient air quality monitoring report is delivered monthly and a summary report is prepared annually for the Director of Alberta Environment s Environmental Monitoring and Evaluation Branch, as prescribed by the Air Monitoring Directive. This Technical Annual Report, together with AMD-required data tables provided by FAP s contractor, serves to meet the requirements of an Annual Compliance Report. It documents the status of the monitoring network and summarizes the regional air monitoring results. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

29 Data Reporting Protocol The data is reported in several ways: Live, unvalidated data is reported hourly on the FAP website at: Live, unvalidated data is reported hourly and retained for 45 days at Alberta Environment s near real-time website at: If the Air Quality Index approaches Poor quality, medical officers from the local health authority are notified by Alberta Environment. They decide whether to issue a public health advisory. Validated historical data, suitable for use in reports, is available from the CASA data warehouse website at: Passive monitoring data tables are available at and at FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

30 Continuous Monitoring Performance Measures Continuous Monitoring Uptime In 2010 the average monthly uptime of all instrumentation in the network was over 98%. There were a few specific instances where individual instrument operation uptime fell below 90% during a month due to equipment malfunction. These instances were reported and corrected. Table 4: Network average uptime (percent) Network Average Uptime CASA Data Submission Timeliness Report All of the 2010 FAP air quality monitoring station data has been submitted to the CASA data warehouse, as shown in Table 5. Most of the time data was submitted by the recommended end-of-month submission date. Submissions were sometimes delayed to perform additional quality checks or to debug CASA s new data submission process, implemented in Table 5: Data on-time submission to CASA Data Warehouse, 2010 Station Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Bruderheim NA NA NA 2 Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan-92 St and 96 Ave Lamont County Range Road Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Scotford = all station data was submitted by month-end. Number = how many days past the end of the month the final data was submitted to CASA. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

31 CASA Data Warehouse Data Quality Assessment To ensure that data submitted by Airsheds to the CASA Data warehouse is credible and of high quality, Alberta Environment commissioned a data quality assessment. The purpose of this data quality assessment was to establish a baseline by which to monitor continuous improvement and for Alberta Environment to adhere to its data quality system. The province-wide, comparative assessment included two years of data for seven parameters at seventeen continuous air quality monitoring sites, and included FAP s Lamont County AQM Station and the Fort Saskatchewan AQM Station. In September 2009, FAP was asked to provide raw, unvalidated data to a third-party consultant for this assessment of the CASA data submissions. The third-party consultant then compared unvalidated data to the data that was submitted to CASA. The consultant reported that most data reviewed appeared to be defensible. There were few data quality issues, and most identified by the consultant were labelled low priority. A few hours of high priority issues were identified at each of the stations in the Province, but represented a very small percentage of the data reviewed. After reviewing the items identified by the consultant, FAP found that in most cases, the data FAP submitted were documented and defensible, and in accordance with standard validation procedures. FAP did take action on some of the consultant s recommendations. In 2010 FAP began to archive 1-minute raw and validated data in addition to having FAP s contractor store the data. FAP contributes to the Data Quality Committee that Alberta Environment initialized, to help to clearly define and standardize ambient air quality data validation processes used throughout the Province Station Audit The FAP monitoring stations were audited by Alberta Environment auditors from September 27 - October 1, 2010 to ensure that monitoring practices comply with the Air Monitoring Directive. These audits are rigorous, where each analyzer is challenged at multiple points with audit quality gases. In addition to challenging the analyzers, the auditors identify opportunities for improvement. Of 33 analyzers that were challenged, 31 of them passed the audit. In one case, a recent calibration error caused an audit failure of the NO x analyzer at Elk Island and was corrected immediately after the audit. Another audit failure occurred because of instability in the non-methane portion of the analyzer at Fort Saskatchewan. The analyzer had responded well during its most recent calibration, but an internal valve FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

32 began to fail in the interim. The faulty analyzer was replaced within a few days of the audit and the valve that caused the instability was repaired. During the audit visit, the Range Road 220 AQM Station was not audited. This station audit is pending the commissioning of a new monitoring station structure. The BTEX analyzer at Scotford 2 was not audited, but an audit was requested by FAP and is pending. FAP received an audit closure letter on November 3, 2010 for the items that were audited. Audit summary reports and the audit correspondence and closure letter are posted on the FAP website at FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

33 2010 Passive Monitoring Network Passive Monitoring Description Passive monitoring is a cost-effective solution for monitoring air quality at locations where continuous monitoring is not practical. Passive sampling devices can monitor air pollutants without the need for electricity, data loggers or pumps. Passive sampling devices are lightweight, portable and relatively simple to operate. No active movement of air through the sampler is necessary. Passive sampling involves the exposure of a reactive surface to the air, and transfer of the pollutant occurs by diffusion from the air to the surface. The surface consists of a solid chemical compound or a filter that is impregnated with a reactive solution. Samplers are typically exposed for periods of one month, and analysis is completed in a laboratory. A major advantage of using a passive sampling system is that a network of multiple samplers can be used over a large area to determine the spatial variation of pollutant levels. Passive samplers are also useful for looking at long-term trends of air pollutants at specific locations. However, since a sample is exposed for a month, events that last for a short time period may be "averaged out". Figure 3: Passive monitor in the field FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

34 2010 FAP Passive Monitoring Network FAP operates a network of passive monitors that measure sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and ozone (O 3 ) on a monthly basis. Samples are exchanged within two days of the first of each month and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Data is published on the FAP website and is summarized in Annual Reports to the community. Ambient air monitoring results are also submitted for compliance purposes to Alberta Environment by the end of the month following the month the sample was exposed and are available in the CASA Data Warehouse. Passive Monitoring Site Selection FAP passive samplers monitor for monthly average concentrations of pollutants. In the FAP network they are intended to gather information over a broad spatial area and to measure trends over time. Sites are not selected based on a high likelihood of impingement, but rather on a spatial grid to establish a picture of comparative air quality throughout the Airshed. A few passive monitoring sites are located near local emission sources instead of on a regional basis, which should be considered when interpreting the data. Passive monitoring site numbers 1 to 10 were selected by FAP and deployed in July 2005 to collect air quality data in communities that did not have continuous monitoring stations. Site numbers 11 to 30 were selected and operated by Shell Canada for EPEA approval compliance purposes, but these were turned over to FAP in 2006 to incorporate into the network. The Technical Working Group developed a plan for future growth of the passive monitoring network, with the intent to achieve a better understanding of regional air quality. The future sites have been mapped on approximately a one township by one township spatial grid within the Airshed. As resources (or regulatory requirements) for passive monitors become available, these grid points may be populated with passive monitors. Site numbers 31 to 40 were placed according to this grid pattern to meet EPEA Approval requirements for ten (out of a total of twenty) passive monitoring sites required for the BA Upgrader. These were deployed in August Site numbers 41 to 43, and 46 to 47 were deployed for Keyera Energy and Provident Energy compliance monitoring in November Site 45 was added to meet an Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) requirement for the Shell Upgrader Expansion, also in November Site numbers 48 through 56 were located in the northern portion of the Airshed, aligned with the selected grid pattern, beginning in August 2008 to meet approval requirements of the BA Upgrader. Site 57 was co-located with the Scotford 2 continuous monitoring station as a data quality assurance tool for H 2 S and SO 2 passive monitors. Passive site 58 was co-located with the Fort Saskatchewan AQM Station in May 2009 as a passive monitoring quality assurance tool to compare NO 2 and O 3 passive monitoring results with the respective continuous monitors. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

35 Site numbers 59 through 63 were deployed in June 2010 to meet EPEA Approval requirements for five additional SO 2 and H 2 S passive sites for the Shell Scotford Upgrader Expansion. Previous years passive monitoring isopleth maps indicated some relatively large spatial gaps in areas that seemed to have a large O 3 and NO 2 gradient, so additional NO 2 and O 3 passive monitors were also deployed at sites 21, 34, 59, 60 and 62. The site coordinates and parameters measured at each passive monitoring site are listed in Table 6. Some sites are named if there is a recognizable nearby landmark or reference. To locate other sites, see the map in Figure 1. Table 6: FAP passive monitoring sites in 2010 Site FAP Site Longitude Latitude SO 2 H 2 S O 3 NO 2 1 W of Hwy x x x 2 N of Ardrossan x x x 3 NE of Bruderheim x x x x 4 Waskatenau x x x x 5 Thorhild x x x 6 Redwater x x x x 7 Bon Accord x x x 8 Gibbons x x x 9 Hu-Haven x x x 10 Fort Augustus x x x x x x x x x x x x x 16 SE Bruderheim x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x 30 S of Redwater x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

36 Site FAP Site Longitude Latitude SO 2 H 2 S O 3 NO x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x 42 N of Redwater x x 43 Keyera Site x x 45 Residence x 46 Josephburg Agplx x x 47 SE Corner FAP x x x x x x x x x x 51 NE corner of FAP x x x x 53 NW corner of FAP x x x x x x x x 57 Scotford 2 colocate x x 58 Fort Sask colocate x x 59 Partridge Hill x x x x 60 Twp 534 & RR x x x x 61 TWP 534 & RR x x 62 TWP 542 & RR x x x x 63 Elk Island Park x x FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

37 Passive Monitoring for Compliance to EPEA Approvals FAP performs passive monitoring on behalf of approval holders, per Table 7. Air quality monitoring reports are submitted monthly to Alberta Environments Director of Environmental Monitoring and Evaluation Division. Data is archived in the CASA data warehouse. Table 7: Passive monitoring compliance requirements (December 31, 2010) Passive Monitoring Network Facility EPEA Approval Number Shell Canada Ltd. Scotford Upgrader (25 sites H 2 S, 25 sites SO 2 ) (Plus one SO 2 site for EUB approval) Provident Energy monitoring locations SO 2 53 monitoring locations H 2 S 28 monitoring locations NO 2 27 monitoring locations O 3 (2 sites H 2 S, 2 sites SO 2 ) BA Energy Heartland Bitumen Upgrader (20 sites H 2 S, 20 sites SO 2 ) Keyera Energy (4 sites H 2 S, 4 sites SO 2 ) BP Canada Energy Company Fort Saskatchewan Fractionation Plant (2 sites H 2 S, 2 sites SO 2 ) FAP Airshed Monitoring program FAP Airshed Monitoring Program There are no EPEA requirement to monitor NO 2 There are no EPEA requirement to monitor O 3 FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

38 2010 Monitoring Results 2010 Exceedances Summary Exceedances of the Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives (AAAQOs) reported in the FAP Airshed during 2010 are listed in Table 8: Table 8: AAAQO exceedances in FAP airshed Parameter Measured Ammonia (NH 3 ) 1-hr Benzene (C 6 H 6 ) 3 1-hr n/a n/a n/a Carbon Monoxide (CO) 1-hr hr Ethyl benzene 3 1-hr n/a n/a n/a (C 6 H 5 CH 2 CH 3 ) Ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) 1-hr day Annual Hydrogen Sulphide 1-hr (H 2 S) 1 24-hr Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) 1-hr hr Annual Ozone (O 3 ) 1-hr Styrene 3 1-hr n/a n/a n/a (C 6 H 5 CH=CH 3 ) Sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) 1-hr hr Annual Particulate Matter 2 24-hr n/a n/a 4 Fine (PM 2.5 ) Toluene (C 6 H 5 CH 3 ) 3 1-hr n/a n/a n/a o-xylene 3,4 (C 6 H 4 (CH 3 ) 2 ) 1-hr n/a n/a n/a Xylenes (-o, -m and -p isomers) 1-hr 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1 FAP reported 12 1-hr exceedances of H 2S in 2007, but when the significant digits were considered, only ten were exceedances of the AAAQO. 2 Alberta Environment implemented a 24-hr AAAQO objective for PM 2.5 during Fall BTEX/S monitoring began in January There is no AAAQO for o-xylene. Late in 2009 equipment upgrades were made to measure and report total xylenes. Reporting of total xylenes began in FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

39 There were several exceedances of Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives (AAAQO) in the FAP network during Ammonia: One 1-hour AAAQO exceedance at Ross Creek, source assigned to local industry. SO 2 : Forty-two 1-hour AAAQO exceedances and six 24-hour exceedances were reported at Redwater Industrial throughout the year. Many of them occurred in December, source assigned to local industry. NO 2 : One 1-hour AAAQO exceedance at Redwater Industrial, local industry source (perhaps from idling trucks staged in the area). PM 2.5 : There were thirty-nine 24-hour AAAQO exceedances throughout the network and hr Guideline exccedances. Most of the events were regional and observed at multiple stations. o January 2010: AAAQO exceedances were reported at Lamont County, Fort Saskatchewan, and Redwater Industrial AQM Stations. o February 2010: AAAQO Exceedance was reported at Lamont County. PM 2.5 concentrations were elevated regionally. o May 2010: 1-hr exceedances were reported at all stations, and one 24- hr exceedance at Redwater Industrial due to smoke from local brush fires at Opal, AB. o August 2010: Twenty-two 24-hour PM 2.5 AAAQO exceedances and hr exceedances occurred over several days at all FAP stations due to smoke from British Columbia forest fires. o November 2010: Two 1-hr exceedances at two different stations. o December 2010: Twelve 24-hour PM 2.5 AAAQO exceedances and 22 1-hr exceedances were reported across the region. FAP did not identify a specific cause. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

40 2010 Ambient Air Monitoring Data 2010 Continuous Monitoring Results Air Quality Index (AQI) The Alberta AQI is calculated using the formulas shown in Table 9. The AQI number for each of the parameters below is a calculated value. The highest calculated value for each of these five pollutants determines the AQI for that hour. Table 9: Air Quality Index as calculated in Alberta Parameter Name Concentration Units Formula Carbon Monoxide Ozone If x 13 ppm AQI = 1.92 x Concentration If x > 13 ppm AQI = (1.47 x Concentration) If x 0.05 ppm AQI = 500 x Concentration If 0.05 < x 0.08 ppm AQI = (833 x Concentration) If x > 0.08 ppm AQI = (714 x Concentration) Sulphur Dioxide All ppm AQI = x Concentration Nitrogen Dioxide Respirable Particulate Matter (PM2.5) If x 0.21 ppm AQI = x Concentration If x > 0.21 ppm AQI = ( x Concentration) If x 30 µg/m 3 AQI = x Concentration If x > 30 µg/m 3 AQI = (0.5 x Concentration) + 10 From these calculated AQI ratings, the air quality is considered to be Good, Fair, Poor or Very Poor. The Air Quality Index as reported from FAP stations is listed in Table 10: Table 10: Air Quality Index in FAP region in 2010 Station Name AQI Hours Monitored Good (AQI 0-25) Fair (AQI 26-50) Poor (AQI ) Very Poor (AQI >100) % Hours % Hours % Hours % Hours Bruderheim Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County * AQI hourly ratings may not add up to 100 due to rounding. At the Elk Island, Fort Saskatchewan, and Lamont County AQM stations, Fair, Poor or Very Poor AQI values are typically based on either ozone or PM 2.5 ; high AQI values are seldom based on carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide or nitrogen dioxide. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

41 Episodes of Fair, Poor or Very Poor AQI were due to the following reasons: ozone during the late afternoon and evening hours during hot summer days, PM 2.5 during inversion periods in winter months, or due to fine particulate matter in the smoke from the Opal fires in May 2010 and the British Columbia fires in August Poor air quality occurred concurrently at all FAP AQI monitoring sites during August 2010, when smoke from British Columbia fires caused very high concentrations of fine particulate matter throughout Alberta. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

42 Carbon Monoxide The AAAQOs for carbon monoxide are: 1-hour average concentration 13 ppm 8-hour average concentration 5 ppm Carbon monoxide is present in small amounts in the atmosphere, chiefly as a product of volcanic activity but also from natural and man-made fires. The burning of fossil fuels also contributes to carbon monoxide production. When air quality monitoring concentrations in the FAP region for 2010 are compared to the AAAQOs, it was observed that maximum concentrations of CO occurred in August 19 during episode of intense smoke from the British Columbia fires, and was about 17% of the 1-hr objective. Monthly, annual and exceedance statistics are in Tables 11 13: Table 11: Monthly average CO concentrations (ppm) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Monthly average Monthly maximum Table 12: Annual average CO concentrations (ppm) - historical Fort Saskatchewan Table 13: Number of CO exceedances in FAP Airshed - historical hour objective hr objective FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

43 Sulphur Dioxide The AAAQOs for sulphur dioxide during 2010 were: 1-hour average concentration 172 ppb 24-hour average concentration 57 ppb Annual average concentration 11 ppb Sources of SO 2 in the airshed are primarily industrial sources, both from within the FAP boundary and outside of it. When air quality monitoring concentrations in the FAP region for 2010 are compared against the AAAQOs, it was observed that: The 1-hour AAAQO for SO 2 was exceeded at the Redwater Industrial AQM Station forty-two times during The 24-hour AAAQO for SO 2 was exceeded on six days at the Redwater Industrial AQM station. The highest annual average concentration of SO 2 in the FAP network was at Redwater Industrial AQM station. See Table 15. At most monitoring locations within the FAP network, the sulphur dioxide concentrations are well below AAAQOs. In 2010 the only monitoring location to exceed the 1-hour and 24-hr SO 2 AAAQO was the Redwater Industrial AQM Station. Summary statistics of SO 2 concentrations recorded in 2010 at individual FAP stations are presented in Table Exceedances are summarized in Table 18. Table 14: Annual average and one-hour maximum SO 2 concentrations (ppb), with percentiles (2010) Station Average P50 P95 P99 Maximum Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County Range Road Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Scotford Interpretation example for percentile figures: 95% of the time, the 1-hour SO 2 concentration at Fort Saskatchewan AQM Station was lower than 2 ppb. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

44 Table 15: Monthly average SO 2 concentrations (ppb) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County Range Road Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Scotford Table 16: Monthly maximum SO 2 concentrations (ppb) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County Range Road Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Scotford Table 17: Annual average SO 2 concentrations (ppb) - historical Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Elk Island n/a n/a n/a n/a Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County Range Road Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Scotford n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a: SO 2 was not measured at this site during this period FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

45 Table 18: Number of SO 2 exceedances in FAP Airshed - historical hour objective hr objective Annual objective For further information about the distribution of SO 2 concentrations within the airshed, refer to Passive Monitoring Results: Sulphur Dioxide. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

46 Oxides of Nitrogen AAAQOs for NO 2 are: 1-hour average concentration 212 ppb 24-hour average concentration 106 ppb Annual average concentration 32 ppb NO 2 in ambient air can be attributed to several sources. Major contributors include vehicular traffic and residential heating, in addition to industrial sources. When air quality in the FAP region during 2010 is compared against the AAAQOs, it is observed that: There was one exceedance of the 1-hour AAAQO for NO 2. The maximum onehour concentration was 231 ppb at the Redwater Industrial AQM Station. There were no exceedances of the 24-hour AAAQO for NO 2. The annual average concentration at each FAP station was well below the AAAQO. The maximum annual average NO 2 concentration monitored was 10 ppb at the Ross Creek AQM station. While there is no AAAQO for monthly average concentrations of NO 2, the monthly averages values are useful to show that variation in NO 2 concentrations is seasonal. The maximum monthly NO 2 values occur during the months of December, January and February. (Refer to Table 20). Possible reasons for this are lower atmospheric mixing heights and/or increased emissions during cold weather. Summary statistics of NO 2 recorded in 2010 are summarized in Tables 19 to 23: Table 19: Annual average and one-hour maximum NO 2 concentrations (ppb), with percentiles (2010) Station Annual Average P50 P95 P99 Maximum Bruderheim Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County Range Rd Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Bruderheim operated for only nine months in Interpretation example for percentile figures: 95% of the time, 1-hour NO 2 concentration at Range Road 220 station is less than 30 ppb. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

47 Table 20: Monthly average concentrations of NO 2 (ppb) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County Range Road Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Station n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Table 21: Monthly maximum one-hour concentration of NO 2 (ppb) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County Range Road Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Station n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Table 22: Number of NO 2 exceedances of AAAQO in FAP airshed hour objective hr objective Annual objective FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

48 Table 23: Historical NO 2 annual averages (ppb): Station Elk Island n/a 4 n/a n/a Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County Range Road Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Nitric oxide (NO) and oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) are also measured at FAP monitoring stations. Data for these parameters are available through the CASA data warehouse at FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

49 Hydrogen Sulphide The AAAQOs for H 2 S are: 1-hour average concentration 10ppb 24-hour average concentration 3ppb When air quality monitoring data is compared against the AAAQOs, it is observed that: There were no exceedances of the 1-hour AAAQOs for H 2 S at any FAP AQM Station in H 2 S concentrations are generally very low. Ninety-five percent of the time they were lower than 1 ppb. The one hour average, maximum and percentile concentrations of hydrogen sulphide recorded in 2010 at individual stations are summarized in the Tables below: Table 24: Annual average and one-hour maximum H 2 S concentrations (ppb), with percentiles (2010) Station Average P50 P95 P99 Maximum Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County Scotford Table 25: Monthly average H 2 S (ppb) at continuous monitoring stations (2010) Fort Saskatchewan Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Lamont County Scotford Table 26: Monthly maximum H 2 S (ppb) at continuous monitoring stations (2010) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County Scotford FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

50 Table 27: H 2 S exceedances table Fort Saskatchewan 1-hr 24- hr 1-hr 24- hr 1-hr 24- hr 1-hr Scotford n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Scotford n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Lamont County 1 FAP reported twelve 1-hr exceedances of H 2 S in 2007, but when the significant digits were considered, only ten were actual exceedances of the AAAQO. n/a not applicable. FAP did not measure this parameter during this period 24- hr 1-hr 24- hr 1-hr 24- hr 1-hr 24- hr FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

51 Ozone The AAAQO for ozone is: 1-hour average concentration 82 ppb When air quality monitoring results in the FAP region were compared against the AAAQO, it was observed that: There were no exceedances of the 1-hour AAAQO for ozone at any of the FAP stations. There is a national standard for ozone. In June 2000, the federal, provincial, and territorial governments (except Quebec) signed the Canada-Wide Standards (CWS) for Particulate Matter and Ozone. The CWS and related provisions for ozone are: A CWS of 65 ppb, 8-hour averaging time Achievement to be based on the 4th highest measurement annually, averaged over 3 consecutive years, with provisions to back out naturally occurring ozone events. Alberta Environment performs the assessment and has determined that Canada-wide Standards were not exceeded for ozone in Alberta during the assessment period. A planning trigger was exceeded, however, and an air quality management plan was developed. A discussion of the status of the Ozone Management Plan and its implementation can be found in later sections of this report. Summary statistics of O 3 concentrations at FAP monitoring stations are shown in the following table: Table 28: Monthly average ozone concentrations (ppb) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County The highest monthly average concentrations tend to occur during the spring months, when the overall background levels are highest. The highest maximum one-hour values tend to occur later in the summer, during hot summer afternoons under low wind conditions. Peak concentrations for ozone are relevant because of the potential health effects. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

52 The maximum one-hour values for O 3 by month are listed in Table 29: Table 29: Monthly maximum Ozone concentration (ppb) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County For further information about O 3 concentrations throughout the airshed, see Passive Monitoring Results: Ozone, found in later sections of this report. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

53 Inhalable and Respirable Particulates (PM 10 and PM 2.5 ) The AAAQO for PM 2.5 is: 24-hour average concentration 30 µg/m 3 There is also an air quality Guideline for PM 2.5 : 1-hour average concentration PM µg/m 3 (This is a guideline figure, not to be used for compliance reporting purposes. However, a one-hour average concentration of 80 µg/m 3 will cause AQI to be Poor ). There is no AAAQO for PM 10. When air quality monitoring data in the Fort Air Partnership region are compared against the AAAQO, it is observed that there were thirty-nine 24-hour AAAQO exceedances and hr Guideline exccedances throughout the network. Most of the events were regional and observed at multiple stations. January 2010: 24-hr exceedances were reported at Lamont County, Fort Saskatchewan, and Redwater Industrial AQM Stations. February 2010: Exceedances were reported at Lamont County. PM 2.5 concentrations were elevated regionally. May 2010: 1-hr exceedances were reported at all stations, and one 24-hr exceedance was reported at Redwater Industrial due to smoke from local brush fires at Opal, AB. August 2010: Twenty-two 24-hour PM 2.5 AAAQO exceedances and hr exceedances occurred over several days at all FAP stations due to smoke from British Columbia forest fires. November 2010: Two 1-hr exceedances at two different stations. December 2010: Twelve 24-hour PM 2.5 AAAQO exceedances and 22 1-hr exceedances were reported across the region. FAP did not identify a cause. The average and maximum one-hour, daily and annual concentrations of PM 2.5 recorded in 2010 at individual FAP stations are shown in the following tables. Table 30: Annual average PM 2.5 concentrations (g/m 3 ), with percentiles (2010) Station Average P50 P95 P99 Maximum Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan > Lamont County Redwater Industrial Range of instrument was exceeded during smoke event of August 19, FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

54 Table 31: Average particulate matter (g/m 3 ) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec PM 2.5 Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan Lamont County Redwater Industrial PM 10 Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a Lamont County Table 32: Maximum 1-hr average particulate matter (g/m 3 ) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec PM 2.5 Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a Elk Island Fort Saskatchewan > Lamont County Redwater Industrial PM 10 Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a Lamont County FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

55 Ammonia The AAAQO for ammonia is: 1-hour average concentration 2000 ppb Sources of ammonia in the airshed are primarily from industrial sources in the production of fertilizer, but can also be formed from natural sources such as the decay of plant material and animal waste. When air quality monitoring data in the FAP region are compared to the AAAQO, it is observed that: There was one exceedance of ammonia recorded in 2010 at the Ross Creek Station. Average and maximum concentrations are summarized in Tables 33 to 36. Table 33: Annual average and maximum Ammonia concentrations (ppb), with percentiles (2010) Station Average P50 P95 P99 Maximum Bruderheim Fort Saskatchewan Range Road Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Example for interpretation: 95% of the time ammonia concentration at Fort Saskatchewan Station was lower than 12 ppb. Table 34: Monthly average ammonia concentrations (ppb) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a Fort Saskatchewan Range Road Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Station 401 Josephburg Rd n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

56 Table 35: Maximum 1-hr ammonia concentrations (ppb) in 2010, by month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a Fort Saskatchewan Range Road 220 Redwater Industrial Ross Creek Station 401 Josephburg Rd n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Table 36: Historical annual average NH 3 trends (ppb) Station Fort Saskatchewan Range Road n/a n/a Redwater Industrial Ross Creek n/a n/a Station 401-Jburg Rd n/a n/a n/a. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

57 Hydrocarbons There are no AAAQOs for concentrations of total hydrocarbons, methane, or nonmethane hydrocarbons. Total hydrocarbons (THC) refer to a broad family of chemicals that contain carbon and hydrogen atoms. Total hydrocarbons are the sum of non-reactive and reactive hydrocarbons. The major reactive hydrocarbon in the atmosphere is methane. Major worldwide sources of atmospheric methane include wetlands, ruminants such as cows, energy use, landfills, and burning biomass such as wood. Methane is the primary component of natural gas. The reactive hydrocarbons consist of many volatile organic compounds, some of which react with oxides of nitrogen in the atmosphere to form ozone. While Alberta does not have ambient air quality objectives for total hydrocarbons, the oxidation of hydrocarbons in the atmosphere contributes to an increased amount of nitrogen oxides and ozone, which do have objectives. Additionally, there are objectives for specific reactive hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, styrene and ethylene. Hydrocarbon concentrations are summarized in the Table 37 and 38: Table 37: Average hydrocarbons (ppm) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Avg Total Hydrocarbons (ppm) Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a Fort Saskatchewan Range Road Methane (ppm) Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a Lamont County Range Road Non-methane Hydrocarbons (ppm) Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a n/a Lamont County Range Road FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

58 Table 38: Maximum hydrocarbons (ppm) in 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Hydrocarbons (ppm) Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a Fort Saskatchewan Range Road Methane (ppm) Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a Lamont County Range Road Non-methane Hydrocarbons (ppm) Bruderheim n/a n/a n/a Lamont County Range Road Although the average and maximum hydrocarbons are similar at the various monitoring sites, Bruderheim measures hydrocarbon spikes that the other stations do not. This can best be illustrated graphically, comparing Bruderheim total hydrocarbons to hydrocarbons at Fort Saskatchewan and Range Road 220. General baseline trends are similar, but Bruderheim does measure additional peaks that are not observed at the other sites. Possible sources of the hydrocarbons peaks are local oil wells and batteries, residential or local business sources, a gas station, a wastewater lagoon, or some other source. Figure 4: One-hour THC station comparison, late 2010 FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

59 Ethylene The AAAQOs for ethylene are: o 1-hour average 1044 ppb o 3-day average 40 ppb o Annual mean 26 ppb When air quality monitoring results are compared against the AAAQOs for ethylene, it is observed that: o There were no one-hour exceedances of ethylene in o The maximum one-hour concentration measured was 245 ppb (23% of the objective). o The annual average was highest at Range Road 220, and did not exceed the annual average objective for ethylene. Table 38: Monthly average ethylene (ppb) in 2010 Range Road 220 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ross Creek Ann Avg Table 39: Maximum 1-hour average concentration ethylene (ppb) 2010, by month Range Road 220 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ross Creek FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

60 Other Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, mp-xylene, total xylene and styrene The Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives for BTEX/S are as follows: Benzene 1-hr: 9ppb (C 6 H 6 ) Toluene 1-hour: 499 ppb (C 6 H 5 CH 3 ) 24-hour: 106 ppb Ethyl benzene 1-hour: 460 ppb (C 6 H 5 CH 2 CH 3 ) Xylenes 1-hour: 529 ppb o-, m- and p- isomers 24-hour: 161 ppb (C 6 H 4 (CH 3 ) 2 ) Styrene 1-hour: 52 ppb (C 6 H 5 CH=CH 2 ) When air quality monitoring results are compared against the AAAQOs for the BTEX/S, it is observed that: There were no exceedances of the one -hour AAAQO for any of the BTEX/S chemicals. There were no 24-hr AAAQO exceedances for any of the BTEX/S chemicals. BTEX/S has been measured on a semi-continuous (four samples per hour) basis at the Scotford 2 AQM station since January In the past, FAP had been measuring only the o-xylene isomer for xylenes, but in March 2010 FAP upgraded and reconfigured the equipment to monitor for the mp-xylene isomers as well. FAP now reports a total xylenes figure which is the sum of m-, o- and p-isomers of xylene and is directly comparable to the AAAQO. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

61 Table 40: BTEX/S monitoring results 2010 Benzene Ethyl benzene m-, p- Xylene 2 o- Xylene Total Xylene 2 Styrene Toluene Zero or below lower detection limit 77.1% 86.6% 90.9% 91.8% 88.5% 89.8% 70.7% 0 < x 5 ppb 17.1% 7.6% 3.1% 2.4% 5.5% 4.3% 23.4% 5 < x 10 ppb 0.02% % 0.1% x >10 ppb 0.01% No data 1 5.8% 5.8% 6.0% 5.8% 6.0% 5.6% 5.8% Maximum (ppb) AAAQO (ppb) n/a n/a No data due to calibration periods and maintenance 2 Total and -m, -p xylenes reporting began March 2010 Each of the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and styrene (BTEX/S) concentrations measured were zero or below the limit of detection more than 71% of the time, and all but one hourly measurement were below 10 ppb for the year. Maximum measured values were very low compared to the selected detection range (0-100 ppb) of the instrument. Since the start up of the device in 2007, the Synspec 655 GC Analyzer has been optimized and calibrated for measuring relatively high concentrations of BTEX/S because expectations of compliance monitoring were to compare data against relatively high AAAQOs. However, the measured concentrations of each of the BTEX/S components have been very low. In 2011, FAP expects to seek approval to reconfigure the analyzer to calibrate at a lower detection range and produce more accurate data at these very low measured concentrations. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

62 2010 Passive Monitoring Results Sulphur Dioxide Passive monitoring results from 2010 are summarized in Table 42. Table 41: 2010 Passive monitoring monthly averages: SO 2 (ppb) n/a: no sample Reportable Detection Limit: 0.02 ppb FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

63 The annual average concentration of SO 2 at each monitoring site was used to develop a concentration map in Figure 4. Darkened areas of the map indicate areas that are likely to experience higher average monthly concentrations of SO 2. The unusual contour shapes are a reminder that the isopleth contours are a graphical representation of interpolated values. The measurements were taken only at monitoring sites, which are represented by the red dots on the map. Figure 5: Passive monitoring: 2010 Annual average concentration: SO 2 (ppb) This isopleth map is a graphical representation of annual average concentrations from several monitoring sites. The isopleth lines are interpolated between these points and are more approximate where there are fewer monitoring sites, or at the edges of the airshed. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

64 Hydrogen Sulphide H 2 S passive monitoring data for 2010 is summarized in Table 43. Since the concentrations are relatively uniform throughout the region, isopleth mapping is not a useful tool for characterizing spatial distribution of H 2 S. Table 42: 2010 Passive monitoring monthly averages: H 2 S (ppb) FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

65 Nitrogen Dioxide NO 2 passive monitoring data for 2010 is summarized in Table 43. Table 43: 2010 Passive monitoring monthly averages: NO 2 (ppb) Reportable detection limit: 0.1 ppb FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

66 Monthly average concentrations of NO 2 vary throughout the region. The higher concentrations in the lower left corner of Figure 6 indicate that a higher annual average concentration of NO 2 was measured in the southwest of the Airshed. Figure 6: Passive monitoring: 2010 average concentration: NO 2 (ppb) This isopleth map is a graphical representation of annual average concentrations from several monitoring sites. The isopleth lines are interpolation between these points and are more approximate where there are fewer monitoring sites, or at the edges of the airshed. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

67 Ozone Ozone passive monitoring data for 2010 is summarized in Table 46. Table 44: 2010 Passive monitoring monthly averages: Ozone (ppb) Reportable detection limit: 0.1 ppb Annual average ozone concentrations vary throughout the region. They are likely lower in the central area of the Airshed due to the presence of nitrogen oxides, which have the effect of lowering ozone concentrations during the night through NO x titration chemistry. During daylight hours, these same nitrogen oxides are precursors to the formation of ozone. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March

68 Figure 7: Passive monitoring: 2010 average concentration: Ozone (ppb) This isopleth map is a graphical representation of annual average concentrations from several monitoring sites. The isopleth lines are interpolated between these points and are more approximate where there are fewer monitoring sites or near the airshed boundaries. FAP Ambient Air Monitoring Network: 2010 Annual Technical Report March