Life cycle cost evaluation of the digital opacity compliance system.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established EPA Reference Method 9 (Method 9) as the preferred enforcement approach for verifying compliance with federal visible opacity standards. While Method 9 has an extensive history of successful employment, reliance on human observers to quantify visible emissions is inherently subjective, a characteristic that exposes Method 9 results to claims of inaccuracy, bias and, in some cases, outright fraud. The Digital Opacity Compliance System (DOCS), which employs commercial-off-the-shelf digital photography coupled with simple computer processing, is a new approach for quantifying visible opacity. The DOCS technology has been previously demonstrated to meet and, in many cases, surpass the Method 9 accuracy and reliability standards (McFarland et al., 2006). Beyond its performance relative to Method 9, DOCS provides a permanent visual record of opacity, a vital feature in legal compliance challenges. In recent DOCS field testing, the opacity analysis of two hundred and forty one (241) regulated air emissions from the following industrial processes: 1) industrial scrubbers, 2) emergency generators, 3) asphalt paving, 4) steel production and 5) incineration indicated that Method 9 and DOCS were statistically equivalent at the 99% confidence level. However, a life cycle cost analysis demonstrated that implementation of DOCS could potentially save a facility $15,732 per trained opacity observer compared to utilization of Method 9.
McFarland
Michael J
MJ
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Utah State University, 1405 Mount Logan Drive, Logan, UT 84321, USA. farlandm@msn.com
Palmer
Glenn R
GR
Olivas
Arthur C
AC
D000397:Air Pollution / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000191:economics* / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007221:Industry / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D010781:Photography / Q000379:methods; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency