Based on the response, the Council unanimously approved the merger option, resulting in the formation of the NSW/ACT Branch. At the 13th International Clean Air and Environment Conference to be held in Adelaide in September 1996, a cleaner production session will be a key part of the programme.
DAVID THOM BECOMES A WORLD FEDERATION OF
The awards are highly respected by the energy community as a sign of sound energy management in industry and commerce, providing prestige and national recognition. Previous winners have included individuals and organizations who have contributed to a better understanding of efficient energy supply and use and demonstrated the economic and environmental benefits of good energy management.
ENGINEERING ORGANISATIONS VICE-PRESIDENT
The Honorable Bob Collins, Federal Minister for Primary Industries and Energy, on Thursday, November 23, 1995 at the Novotel Melbourne on Collins. The report on the BHP Steel and partners project will be in the next issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL
SUBCOMMITTEE FOR AEESEAP
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
For example, the wet filter media market in Asia is only 20 percent of the world total. One is the scrubber/adsorber category where Asia only accounts for 27 percent of the world market.
STANDARDS AVAILABLE FROM STANDARDS AUSTRALIA
To more appropriately reflect its corporate focus on the environmental sector, Activated Carbons Australia Ltd has changed its name to The. To distinguish the company from its parent company, the company later changed its name to The Environmental Group (Aust) Pty Ltd. A new company, Activated Carbons Australia Pty Ltd, was also formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of The Environmental Group Ltd. to continue the commercial activities previously carried out by Activated Carbons Australia Ltd.
COULTER ELECTRONICS AND LINBROOK SIGN DISTRIBUTION
Air Instruments & Measurements Inc applies innovative technologies for on-site and exhaust environmental emissions monitoring, combustion optimization, process control and outdoor ambient air monitoring.
INSTRUMENTS FROM ECOTECH
The new laws will make it easier to force companies to pay for cleaning up the pollution they caused. This is quite different from the proposed NSW legislation governing contaminated sites, which is expected to place responsibility for clean-up solely with the original polluter of the land. The LS541 contains a transceiver and reflector mounted on opposite sides of the stack and a remote mounted control unit.
INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S CONFERENCE ON THE
Safetyline - Workplace Safety on the Internet: Provides online access to information and publications issued by the Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Commission and the Department of Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare in Western Australia (DOHSWA). It is very useful to determine whether a substance not on the Worksafe Australia, Designated List of Hazardous Substances is hazardous or not; plus the correct risk and safety phrases and other useful data. Workplace Hazardous Substances Guide for Small Businesses, this book (<$30) and a computer-based learning package (<$400) on workplace hazardous materials management, will both be available from the Aust.
THE REGIONAL POLLUTION INDEX - A BACKGROUND PAPER
Lashmar
INTRODUCTION
THE ORIGINAL POLLUTION INDEX (SPI) METHODOLOGY
To reflect these changes, the name was changed to the Regional Pollution Index (RPI) and it was launched by the Minister for the Environment on 29 March 1993. Each bulletin contains a brief explanation of the pollution index, including: the pollutant responsible for the maximum concentration , on which the RPI was calculated; the numerical value of the pollution index and the rating (high, medium, low). In addition to the pollution index information, the afternoon bulletin for Sydney includes an air quality forecast for the next day.
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE SPI AND RPI METHODOLOGIES
Meteorology (BOM) of the afternoon weather forecast and indicates whether numerical values of the pollution indices are expected to remain the same, rise or fall. Therefore, reporting a single peak hourly average pollutant concentration from a single measuring station using the SPI methodology did not accurately represent pollutant levels in the entire airspace. When overnight pollutant levels were reported in the three regions, the distribution of days within each category changed (see Figures 2D-F).
CONCLUSION
March 1993 an RPI was introduced by the NSWEPA to
A change in the distribution of pollution indices within each category has been accompanied by the inclusion of nighttime pollution levels and nitrogen dioxide in the morning RPI. The morning RPI provides information on pollutants involved in the formation of photochemical smog and brown haze. Nitrogen dioxide and particulates are associated with the formation of photochemical smog and brown haze.
This meant that the peak levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter that usually occur at night in winter, and the peak ozone levels that sometimes occur after 3pm in summer, were not reported. As mentioned above, peak levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter tend to occur at night during the winter months.
NSW Environment Protection
Authority New South Wales, Quarterly Air Quality Monitoring Reports,
Michelle Lashmar Air Quality Scientist,
NSW Environment Protection Authority
PO Box 29 Lidcombe
SYDNEY NSW 2141
The raw data for calculating the morning RPI for the eastern Sydney region is presented in Tables 1-3.
Pollution Index = (Particles/2.1) x 50 where 2.1 is the particle scattering
Held: Bond University, 18 and 19 May, 1995
The following summaries from Part B of the workshop are printed in this issue, Part A was printed in the
November 1995 issue of Clean Air
H. Prokop
SENSORY PROPERTIES OF ODOUR
ODOUR DILUTION TO
THRESHOLD MEASUREMENT
Scentometer dilution to threshold ratio is not related to the level of nuisance caused by the odor. Dynamic olfactometry has now emerged as the method of choice over the previous static dilution methods. The Forced Choice, Triangle Dynamic Dilution Olfactometer was developed by the IIT Research Institute to implement the odor evaluation principles of ASTM Method E-679.
SUPRATHRESHOLD (ODOUR INTENSITY)
Schulz & van Harreveld
Recent activities in Europe have concentrated on the development of a European standard for odor measurement by dynamic.
DUTCH OLFACTOMETRY STANDARD (NVN 2820)
EUROPEAN STANDARD (CEN) The final draft of the working group,
BUTANOL AS REFERENCE GAS The use of butanol for panel calibration
NUMBER OF PANELLISTS Both the Dutch pre-standard and the
SUMMARY
Lunney
This expansion was accompanied by strong community concern about environmental issues. To address some of these issues, the Meat Research Corporation funded a collaborative project involving the Department of Primary Industries and the University of Southern Queensland. The effect of pad moisture and ration on odor emissions has been investigated (Watts et al, 1992 & Tucker and Watts, 1993). A model has been developed to predict odor emissions from pasture (Lunney & Smith, 1995).
SAMPLING AND TESTING Both wind tunnel sampling and ambient
TESTING PANELS
VALIDITY OF OLFACTOMETRY
Stone
INTRODUCTION: IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS A standard mixture of gases in an inert
TREATMENT OF EMISSION SOURCES THROUGH
Repeatability (within the laboratory) is the value at or below which the absolute difference between two individual test results is expected to lie with 95% probability for the same material using the same laboratory, i.e. same operator, same apparatus, etc. Reproducibility (comparison) of laboratories) is the value at or below which the absolute difference between two individual test results is expected to lie with a 95% probability for the same material using the same techniques by operators in different laboratories. By transforming the results from concentration units to p.ol units, the data become normally distributed and can then be analyzed following the procedure outlined in AS2850-1986.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Log-transformed data received from
The results of this test were criticized as each of the six participating laboratories prepared their own ammonia sample for analysis, which could introduce random errors into the test and confound the calculation of repeatability and reproducibility. Statistical analysis of the data returned from the participating laboratories was carried out in accordance with AS 2850-1986 Appendix B, Statistical Analysis for Uniform Levels Experiments. Concentration units can be converted to olfactory power (p.ol) units, where p.ol=-logl0 (threshold concentration), e.g. for a threshold of 1ppb, p.ol=9 (Devos, et.al., 1990).
UNDILUTED HYDROGEN SULFIDE Two outliers of variance were identified,
In order to quantify the accuracy of odor concentration measurements using dynamic olfactometry, in 1991 the Australian Standards Committee CH/19 - Methods for Air Inspection initiated a laboratory intercomparison program run by the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage. The Australian Standards Committee CH/19 decided to repeat the laboratory intercomparison using a single compressed gas mixture with a validated pure odor concentration. The procedure for determining the precision of interlaboratory results described in Australian Standard 2850-1986 is based on the assumption that the data are normally distributed.
DILUTED SAMPLES
T. Holmes
For stack emissions of pure substances, where emission rates can be measured with some degree of accuracy, models can predict ground-level concentrations to better than a factor of two. Many odor sources, such as sewage treatment plants and cattle feedlots, inherently have variable odor emission rates. Furthermore, the assumptions for estimating emission rates from land sources must be further refined.
ODOUR EMISSION RATES The technique for measuring odours has
Dispersion modeling is also a useful tool in odor impact assessment, but there are significant problems with odor modeling, which arise from uncertainties in odor measurements and limitations of the model. It is also much more difficult to validate odor modeling in the field because the best detection tool for environmental odor is still the highly variable human nose. In addition, the very short response time of the human nose to odors allows short-term peaks in odor levels to be detected that are not predicted by the model.
CONCLUSIONS
Freeman
There should be standards and guidelines for determining odor strength using dynamic olfactometry so that reliable, reproducible results can be obtained. It is intended that these guidelines will be followed for any olfactometry carried out for the NSW EPA or Sydney Water. The guidelines are still evolving and some details have yet to be determined.
SAMPLE COLLECTION
OLFACTOMETRY
THE OLFACTOMETER
W. Stephenson
In order to allow the analysis of odor samples, they must first be collected. Sufficient air is usually added to the odor sampling bags for dilution (appropriate calculated volume). generally Mylar, Tedlar or Teflon) to prevent condensation in the bag. Condensation traps are sometimes used, but these may exclude some odorous compounds in the liquid phase from determination.
Court
- A brief summary of the methods in use in Australia was
- There was agreement that the ideal goal is a consistent
Panelists should be chosen with the goal in mind that they will achieve the average sensitivity of the. 34;The most important variable in the design of dynamic olfactometry is the flow rate at which the diluted odor stimulus is delivered to the panelist's nose. This olfactometer is specifically designed to achieve miniaturization by using capillary stainless steel and Teflon tubes (instead of rotameters) to control the flow rates of the odor sample and dilution air.
Bill Prokop commented subsequent to the Workshop
SAMPLING
Problems in sampling
Reuse of plastic Tedlar and Teflon bags versus single
ODOUR OFFENSIVENESS OR HEDONIC TONE
Two views were apparent on reviewing the separate
There was general agreement across all
AVAILABLE STANDARDS
The recommendation came from all quarters that OSIG
The possibility of OSIG seeking agency funds to
Views on whether standards should be prescriptive
ACCREDITATION
There was general
It is clear from the workshop that odor regulation and measurement in Australia is at a very interesting stage. Other actors will need to carry forward other aspects of the workshop: regulatory agencies, researchers, industry groups, consultants, etc. At this stage, input is sought from OSIG members on the outcomes of the workshop.
RESPONSE
From my perspective as convener of the Society's Odor Special Interest Group (OSIG) and editor of these proceedings from the Gold Coast Workshop process, it appears that Australia ranks among the world leaders in odor measurement and management. One is reminded of the soul-searching and fundamental questions we went through as a community of air quality professionals in the seventies dealing with and measuring ozone and photochemical pollution. The key issues have been summarized in specific points in each Workshop account and members are invited.
MANAGING THE ENVIRONMENT WITH ISO 1400
AS/NZSISO 14001 (Int):1995 Environmental management systems
AS/NZ5 ISO 14004(lnt):1995 Environmental management systems -
AS/NZS ISO 14010 (Int):1995
Guidelines for environmental auditing - General principles
AS/NZS ISO 14011(lnt):1995
Guidelines for environmental auditing - Auditing procedures -
Auditing of environmental management systems
AS/NZS ISO I4012(lnt):1995
Guidelines for environmental auditing - Qualification criteria for environmental
NEW CONTAMINATED SITE LAWS FOR NSW
NSW Environment and Technical Services Manager at ACM
SUPPORT FOR INNOVATION AND RESEARCH
ERDC currently has investments in manufacturing processes such as energy efficient thermal food processing, utilization of biomass waste as an energy source and microwave drying of polymers. It has projects underway for the development of energy efficient appliances and equipment such as hot water systems, gas hobs, downlights, high efficiency HCVAC and solar water pumping. ERDC is interested in contacting companies involved in the manufacture of white goods and appliances to introduce them to ERDC's support and investment.
1995 AWARDS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT APPLIANCES
