Development of EPA OTM 10 for Landfill Applications
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 8
Abstract
In 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency posted a new test method on its website called Other Test Method 10 (OTM 10) which describes direct measurement of pollutant mass emission flux from area sources using ground-based optical remote sensing. The method has validated application to relatively small bounded area sources but additional guidance is needed for large area sources, such as landfills, where the emission zone can exceed the size of optical configuration leading to difficulties in relating measured fluxes to emissions per unit area. This paper presents the findings of a series of tracer-release experiments designed to improve the understanding of OTM 10 in landfill applications. OTM 10 plume capture efficiency data acquired at a variety of landfill sites under a range of meteorological conditions and measurement configurations are presented. Experiments indicate an overall capture efficiency factor of 0.81 with a standard deviation of 0.33. Lower capture efficiencies from side slope releases are noted (0.69). The combined data set is analyzed for factors influencing capture efficiency. A multiple linear regression is used to model the capture efficiency as a function of primary parameters including distance of the tracer release from the observing plane and wind speed. A simplified model based on the regression analysis is described and its use for approximating the area contributing to flux is presented.
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Acknowledgments
This work reflects the contributions of many individuals. In particular, the writers acknowledge the great efforts of Waste Management’s contractors Chris Johns, and Tom Pike in field data collection and collaboration with Antoine Babilotte of Veolia Environment in the October Metro release study. Thanks to Mark Modrak and Eric Morris with ARCADIS for their efforts. Thanks to Jeff Chanton of Florida State University, Mort Barlaz of NC State University, and Sze Tan of Picarro for many helpful discussions. We appreciate the direction and support of Susan Thorneloe, Buddy Thompson, Shawn Lafferty, and Paul Groff with U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development and Robin Segal, Jason DeWees, and Connie Sue Oldham with U.S. EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 8 • August 2010
Pages: 769 - 776
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Jan 26, 2009
Accepted: Sep 2, 2009
Published online: Sep 3, 2009
Published in print: Aug 2010
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