Lakes Environmental Presents CALPUFF Modelling Poster at Air Quality Workshop in Banff, Alberta!

Lakes Environmental participated in the Fourth Canadian Workshop on Air Quality in Banff, Alberta, from Feb. 14-16. Dr. Kahing Yau presented his poster titled “A Regional Air Quality Assessment with CALPUFF Modelling on a Grid Computing Platform,” co-authored with Dr. Jesse Thé.  To view the poster, please visit

https://www.weblakes.com/calpuff/RegionalAirQuality_CALPUFF.pdf

The theme for the AQ2006 workshop was Air Quality: Piecing the Puzzle.  The workshop brought together experts in modeling, monitoring, research, and policy in order to share knowledge and bridge gaps in understanding air quality issues.

Dr. Yau is our senior meteorologist responsible for advanced R&D in atmospheric science modeling.  Dr. Jesse Thé is the president and founder of Lakes Environmental Inc.

Lakes Environmental Presentation at A&WMA Climate Change Conference in San Francisco, California

Lakes Environmental participated in the “Planning for the Future: Climate Change, Greenhouse Gas Inventories & Clean Energy Linkages” conference, which was held in San Francisco from March 7 to March 9, 2006.  The conference was organized by the Air and Waste Management Association and sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Area Air Quality Management District and others.

The Conference acknowledged that climate change is a serious threat to humankind due to its bulk scale that stretches beyond any nation’s boundaries as well as its adverse impacts on humankind’s social, economic, and environmental values.  Dr. Luai Hamouda presented a policy paper that investigates the future of the climate change regime using the graph model for conflict resolution. You may read a copy of the paper, “The Future of the Climate Change Regime: A Strategic Analysis” at

https://www.weblakes.com/project_experience/Future_ClimateChange
Regime.pdf.

Dr. Luai Hamouda, P.Eng, is Lakes Environmental's Business Development Manager.

AF&PA to Hold Boiler MACT & Plywood MACT Workshops in June in Charleston, SC and in September in Portland, OR

The American Forest & Paper Association will hold workshops for EPA's MACT rules for industrial boilers and for plywood and composite wood products.  These workshops will review important compliance issues for the 2 rules.   The workshop dates are June 28 & 29 in Charleston and September 25 & 26 in Portland.  For further information, please e-mail glynn_rountree@afandpa.org.

Lakes Environmental to offer IRAP-h View Course

Lakes Environmental is considering offering a course on the basics of risk assessment (as per the 2005 US EPA OSW HHRA Protocol) and the IRAP-h View software package.  If you are interested in taking such a course, likely to be offered in Dallas, Texas, please contact us at training@weblakes.com.

We’ve set a number of training dates for 2006, with additional courses to be announced.  Please contact us at training@weblakes.com for international or customized training needs.

AERMOD & ISCST3 Courses

CALPUFF Courses

Customized Courses

Lakes Environmental offers a variety of on-site, customized courses for all of your air dispersion modeling needs.  For information on pricing and availability, please email us at training@weblakes.com.

For more information on these courses, such as registration information and course outlines, please visit our website: https://www.weblakes.com/courses.html.

Modeling Tip: Emission Rates for Area Sources in Risk Assessment Projects

When conducting a risk assessment project (e.g. one following the 2005 US EPA OSW HHRAP), COPC emission rates for area sources should be specified in grams per second (g/s).  This may cause some confusion as the unitized emission rate specified for area sources in your ISCST3/AERMOD air dispersion modeling project would have been specified as an emission rate in grams per second per square meter [g/(s*m²)].

There are two methods that you can follow when specifying emission rates for area sources in your air dispersion modeling input files and in your risk assessment project.  These two methods are explained in more detail below.

Method 1:

In your ISCST3 or AERMOD air modeling input file, set the emission rate for your area source to 1 g/(s*m²).

For example:

• The area source you are modeling has an area of 500 m².
• Specify the emission rate for this area source in the ISCST3/AERMOD input file as 1 g/(s*m²).
• The total emission rate in g/s for the area source would be equal to 500 g/s [500 m² * 1 g/(s*m²)].

If you used Method 1 for the air modeling unitized emission rate, then in your risk assessment project, enter the area source COPC emission rate as if it was being specified in g/(s*m²).

For example:

• If the total emission of COPC A for the 500 m2 area source is 3.5 g/s, this equates to 0.007 g/(s*m²).
• Enter an emission rate of 0.007 g/s for COPC A for the area source.

Method 2:

In your ISCST3 or AERMOD air modeling input file, set an emission rate in g/(s*m²) such that the total emission rate of the source is 1 g/s.

For example:

• The Area source you are modeling has an area of 500 m².
• Specify the emission rate for this area source in the ISCST3/AERMOD input file as 0.002 g/(s*m²).
• The total emission rate in g/s for the area source would be equal to 1 g/s [500 m² * 0.002 g/(s*m²)].

If you used Method 2 for the air modeling unitized emission rate, then in your risk assessment project you must specify the emission rate for the COPC in g/s [Emission (g/(s*m²)) x Area of Source (m²)].

For example:

• If the total emission of COPC A for the 500 m² area source is 3.5 g/s (or 0.007 g/(s*m²)).
• Enter an emission rate of 3.5 g/s for COPC A for the area source.

We are currently accepting submissions for the Monthly Modeling Tip which appears in our newsletters.  If you have a modeling tip that may benefit a variety of people, please send it to us at support@weblakes.com.   Your name and the name of your organization will appear below the tip providing you with greater exposure.

You Are What You Eat—Within a Factor of 2

ES&T’s runner-up environmental science paper for 2005 explains why two different species living side by side in the same ecosystem can accumulate wildly different amounts of metals from their environment.
https://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/mar/science
/an_luoma.html

Technology firsts at GLOBE 2006

This year’s GLOBE 2006 trade show offers visitors more value and opportunities to learn than ever!   The next generation of transportation and building solutions will be unveiled to the public by more than 400 leaders in environmental technologies, services, and solutions from around the world. GLOBE 2006 will take place at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 29th to 31st and attracts world leaders and industry pioneers to Canada.
https://www.globe-net.ca/news/index.cfm?type=2&newsID=1899

Largest Offshore CO2 Injection Planned

Energy groups Statoil and Shell plan the world’s biggest scheme to bury industrial gases beneath the seabed in a $1.2-$1.5 billion project off Norway to raise oil output and curb global warming, the firms said on Wednesday.
https://www.globe-net.ca/news/index.cfm?type=2&newsID=1903

Global Warming Reaches 'Tipping Point,' Report Says

Human-fueled global warming has reached a "tipping point," according to a new survey of scientific research that found warming would continue even if greenhouse gas emissions halted immediately.
https://enn.com/today.html?id=10077

EPA’s science advisers disappointed by proposed PM standards

Under a set of standards [1.5MB PDF] published in January, the U.S. EPA is proposing to reduce allowable levels of particulate matter (PM) found in the air people breathe, but not by as much as its Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) recommended.  In an unusual move, CASAC members criticized the proposed rule, saying it would not be sufficiently protective.  The committee plans to send a letter to EPA Administrator Steve Johnson explaining the scientific rationale underlying its recommendations and calling for a tighter rule.
https://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/mar/policy/
kc_PMstandards.html

Linking China’s Air Pollution to Export Markets

As one of the world’s fastest growing industrial areas, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region on China’s south coast churns out more than $100 billion worth of goods annually.  Factory after factory produces inexpensive items, such as electronics, clothing, and toys, most of them destined for export to eager consumers in North America, Europe, and other parts of Asia.  The dark side of this economic powerhouse is high levels of air pollution.
https://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/mar/policy/
kc_china.html

Power Plants Must Have a Mercury Reduction Strategy Now

Despite the regulatory uncertainties it is essential that power plant operators put in place both short-term and long-term plans to deal with mercury emissions.  This is the advice provided by the McIlvaine Company in Power Plant Air Quality Decisions.
http://www.environmental-expert.com/resulteachpressrelease.asp?cid=5122&codi=6195

Here are a few Conferences and Tradeshows coming up in the next few months: