• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

EPA's New Air Quality Model Likely to Benefit Industrial Facilities

Posted on: Monday, 21 November 2005, 12:00 CST

WESTFORD, Mass., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adopting a new air quality model used to permit the emissions of industrial facilities nationwide. The new AERMOD model can significantly affect the air quality compliance status of thousands of industrial facilities across the US -- in many cases, allowing increased operational flexibility, says ENSR, a leading environmental consulting firm.

AERMOD is replacing the Industrial Source Complex (ISC) model, which has been used for the past 25 years. When the final rule becomes effective in early December 2005, the ISC model will be phased out over a 1-year period, while AERMOD can be used immediately.

According to Robert Paine, ENSR Technical Director and member of EPA's AERMOD design team, AERMOD's predictions of ground-level pollutant concentrations are more accurate because they incorporate up-to-date physics in simulating of air emissions plume transport and dispersion. "In many cases, AERMOD predicts lower concentrations than the ISC model," says Paine. Mr. Paine, a Certified Consulting Meteorologist, is also an advisor to EPA in the implementation of the new model.

Many facilities can benefit by conducting a simple review of their air permits relative to AERMOD to determine whether any operational restrictions previously set via dispersion modeling can be relaxed. Some facilities would also benefit from a review of available meteorological data and possible acquisition of site-specific data.

For more information on how AERMOD may benefit your company, facility representatives may request the AERMOD Update at 800-722-2440 or http://www.ensr.com/inforequest.htm.

ENSR, an AECOM company, is a worldwide, environmental services leader serving industrial companies and government agencies with 1,600 employees and 70 offices. Founded in 1968, ENSR has been assisting clients with air quality consulting, engineering and management for over 35 years, and has a domestic air quality staff of over 70 professionals. A full service environmental firm, ENSR provides consulting, engineering, remediation, and environmental health and safety management solutions, and has received the Environmental Business Journal business achievement awards in 2001-2004. As an AECOM company, ENSR is part of a global design and management company with 22,000 employees worldwide serving the transportation, facilities, and environmental markets.

ENSR

CONTACT: John Petraglia of ENSR, +1-800-722-2440

Web site: http://www.ensr.com/

Source: PRNewswire

More News in this Category