How To Evaluate Visible Emissions In The Field

By Robert Richardson


Any type of airborne particles which are as result of either chemical or even physical process is often regarded to as a visible release. They are usually correlated basically with some of respiratory particles and their opacity effects is used to measure these type of releases in the air. Opacity is basically monitored by visual assessment using a stop watch. Opacity is usually expressed in terms of percentage of light that is usually scattered or even blocked by visible emissions.

Mostly these releases are comprised of the finest particulate matter which ranges from the size one tenth up to about two hundred micrometer. These are particles which are mostly put into categories of fly ash, soot, dust, fumes smoke as well as the liquid droplets. Mostly industries usually emit these kind of particles through the use stacks, conveyors and vents to the atmosphere.

Another method is the Idaho visible exhausts limit. This method or procedure is basically located in DEQs techniques, handbook for air pollution control. The procedures of this method tend to look similar to those contained in the EPA method 9. Both of these methods are designed with an aim of describing the necessities for both training and testing opacity viewers, steps to be followed as well as recording of data while documenting the observations.

These kind of particles have been associated with numerous health problems which they tend to pose to human. Some of these problems include respiratory and breathing system effects, cardiovascular as well as the aggravation of the existing respiratory, body defense alteration, damages in the lung tissue, premature death and carcinogenesis among other problems. The particulate matter can have numerous effect on trees, shrubs and other types of crops.

This particulate matter has the capacity of causing injuries to trees, crops as well as shrubs. It has the capacity of damaging some type of surfaces like the fabrics and metals as well. The fine particles can impair visibility as it usually scatters light thus minimizing the visual range in rural, urban and wilderness area as well. The first tool which was developed to measure these visible releases was the Ringelmann chart which was established in the late 1800s.

Another measurement method is the use of Ringelmann chart. This was the first tool which was developed so as to measure the observation and it came into use in the late 1800s. In the United States of America this tool got introduced in 1897. The tool then became accepted later in major cities, states together with federal regulation on the density of smoke. This tool was meant to measure the black smoke density but with time it was adopted in measuring the gray, white as well as other colors of smoke.

This tool is constructed on the premise that the greater the particulate matter in the atmosphere then the more likelihood the cloud of smoke will be which would significantly inhibit light penetration and henceforth visibility is minimized. Percentage is normally used to simply measure plume opacity. This means that the higher the opacity then the plume background is expected to be accompanied by lesser visibility.

Therefore the higher the opacity then the more the background which is behind the cloud is obscures and therefore the lesser the amount of light that can come through the cloud. If there is no background which is obscured then this implies that the opacity is zero percent.




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