N. Dagnillo₁, L. Hill₂, A. Fortune₃, A. Smith₄, and S. Thompson₂
¹Trihydro Corporation, 3001 E. Pershing Blvd, Suite 115, Cheyenne, WY 82007
²Trihydro Corporation, 1537 Riverside Ave., Suite 101, Fort Collins, CO 80524
³Columbia Analytical Services, Inc., 2655 Park Center Drive, Suite A, Simi Valley, CA 93065
⁴Trihydro Corporation, 9460 Calle Milano, Atascadero, CA 93422

Vapor intrusion is a fate and transport process characterized by the upward movement of volatile chemicals from subsurface contamination (e.g., buried waste, contaminated groundwater) into overlying buildings. The potential for adverse human health effects from exposure to indoor air vapors has motivated private, state, and federal entities to develop guidance documents and protocols specific to the collection and analysis of soil vapor data.

Read more about Vapor Intrusion Investigations…

by Brian Lewis, Ph. D

The regulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) has had a contentious history and continues to be a topic of much debate. The debated topics range from what agency should be in charge of GHG regulations to whether GHG needs to be regulated at all.

On June 10, the U.S. Senate voted 53-47 against a resolution of disapproval that would have stripped the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the authority to regulate GHGs under the Clean Air Act.^1-3 The resolution’s defeat paved the way for the EPA to regulate GHG emissions from both new automobiles and stationary sources. The EPA has now enacted rules that would require large-scale GHG producers to acquire permits.

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EPA released a new National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in January. This new one-hour standard is aimed to protect public health from peak short-term exposures, especially along busy city streets and highways where NO₂ exposure is the most likely. According to the EPA, NO₂ exposure has been linked to impaired lung function and increased respiratory infections, especially in people with asthma.

NO₂ is one of a group of highly reactive gasses. It forms quickly from emissions from cars, trucks, buses, power plants, and off-road equipment. In addition, NO₂ contributes to the development of ground-level ozone and fine particle pollution.

Read more about the nitrogen dioxide standard…

The EPA aims to reduce air emissions from certain stationary diesel engines and issued their first standards on February 17, 2010. The rule will help reduce formaldehyde, benzene, acrolein and other toxic air pollutants from diesel powered stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE), also known as compression ignition (CI) engines. The toxic air pollutants, also referred to as hazardous air pollutants or air toxics, are suspected of causing cancer and other serious health effects as well as environmental damage.

EPA estimates that the rule will reduce annual toxic air emissions by 1,000 tons, particle pollution by 2,800 tons, carbon monoxide emissions by 14,000 tons, and organic compound emissions by 27,000 tons when fully implemented in 2013.

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