EPA Continues to Save the World- Regulating Wood Stoves and Fireplaces

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing new standards for the amount of air pollution that can be emitted by residential wood stoves and heaters, beginning in 2015. There will be a public hearing Feb. 26, 2014 in Boston. EPA expects to issue a final wood stove rule in 2015, the full 354 pages of the proposed regulation can be read at this link if you are interested.

The EPA’s proposal covers wood stoves, fireplace inserts, indoor and outdoor wood boilers (also called hydronic heaters), forced air furnaces and masonry heaters, and is intended to make the next generation of wood stoves, fireplaces and heaters 80% cleaner than those manufactured or built today. The current proposal would not affect heaters, fireplaces and stoves already in use in homes today.

These regulations are intended to reduce the health impacts of fine particle pollution, of which wood smoke is a contributing factor in some areas. Residential wood smoke contains fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, carbon monoxide, toxic air pollutants such as benzene and formaldehyde, and what the EPA calls climate-forcing emissions– greenhouse gases resulting from combustion and incomplete combustion. According to the EPA, smoke from wood stoves and fireplaces contributes hundreds of thousands of tons of fine particles during the winter months, which I suppose is not surprising given the sheer number of households in the nation.

Particle pollution has been linked to a wide range of serious health effects, including heart attacks, strokes and asthma attacks. In some areas, residential wood smoke makes up a significant portion of the fine particle pollution problem. According to the proposed regulations, residential wood combustion accounts for 44% of the total remaining stationary and mobile polycyclic organic matter (POM) emissions, nearly 25% of the remaining air toxics cancer risks and 15 % of non-cancer respiratory such as irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty breathing and aggravated asthma.

Health effects can result from both short-term and long-term exposure to particulate pollution. People most sensitive to particulate pollution include infants and children, the elderly, and people with existing heart and lung disease. The smallest particles can penetrate deepest, causing the greatest harm. Researchers are still trying to identify which types and sources of particles are most hazardous to human health. Though, particles created from combustion soot tend to be fine particles with diameters smaller than 2.5 microns (PM 2.5) which are the most dangerous because it lodges in the lungs.

Reportedly, residential wood smoke causes many counties in the U.S. to exceed the US EPA annual PM2.5 air quality standard which was lowered in 2012 (thought states have until 2020 to meet the tighter standard). The annual standard for the smallest particles is 12 ug/m3 and 24-hr standard is 35 ug/m3. In 2012 when EPA promulgated the revised standard, they projected that 99% of U.S. counties with monitoring stations would meet the standard with only 7 counties in California failing to meet the Annual Fine Particle Health Standard of 12 μg/m3. Now the EPA states “residential wood smoke causes many counties in the U.S. to either exceed the EPA’s ... national ambient air quality standards... for fine particles or places them on the cusp of exceeding those standards.” So now to continue down the road on their quest for continual reductions in pollution levels despite growing population, EPA must increase regulation on residential fireplaces and wood stoves. The EPA states that they “continue to encourage state, local, tribal, and consumer efforts to replace older heaters with newer, cleaner, more efficient heaters, but that is not part of this federal rulemaking.” Wait until next year.

Below is the list of air quality rules that have resulted in the tremendous improvement in air quality from 2000-2010. The next level in clean air will have to regulate every home and individual behavior and choices.

• Heavy Duty Diesel Rule (U.S. EPA, 2000)
• Clean Air Non-road Diesel Rule (U.S. EPA, 2004)
• Regional Haze Regulations and Guidelines for Best Available Retrofit Technology Determinations (U.S. EPA, 2005b)
• NOx Emission Standard for New Commercial Aircraft Engines (U.S. EPA, 2005)
• Emissions Standards for Locomotives and Marine Compression-Ignition Engines (U.S. EPA, 2008)
• Control of Emissions for Non-road Spark Ignition Engines and Equipment (U.S. EPA, 2008)
• C3 Oceangoing Vessels (U.S. EPA, 2010)
• Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators: New Source Performance Standards and Emission Guidelines: Final Rule Amendments (U.S. EPA, 2009)
• Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE) NESHAPs (U.S. EPA, 2010)
• Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (U.S. EPA, 2011)
• Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (U.S. EPA, 2011)
• National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particles (U.S. EPA, 2012)
• Carbon Dioxide Standard for Power Plants (U.S. EPA, 2012 and 2013)

Air Pollution from Coal Fired Power Plants

On April 1, 2013 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement with Dominion Energy Corporation to pay $3.4 million civil penalty and spend $9.75 million on environmental mitigation and community projects and close a coal fired power plant in Indiana. Reducing air pollution from coal-fired power plants and reducing the number of coal fired power plants in the United States, is one of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives for 2011-2013.

In addition to the civil penalty and mitigation projects mentioned above Dominion Energy must install or upgrade pollution control technology on two coal fired power plants, and permanently retire their State Line plant. The pollution control upgrades will produce annual reductions at the Brayon Point and Kincaid plants of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions by 52,000 tons from 2010 levels. The retirement of the State Line plant will result in an additional reduction of 18,000 tons of SO2 and NOx. The State Line power plant was first put into operation in 1929 and overhauled over half a century ago. Dominion Energy decided to close the plant rather than upgrade the pollution control systems announcing that intent back in November 2010 and finally closing the plant on March 31, 2013.

The reason that sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides matter to the EPA (and the rest of us) is because reacting in the atmosphere with sunlight and water vapor they form fine particulate pollution. Particles created this way tend to be fine particles with diameters smaller than 2.5 microns, called PM 2.5, which are the most dangerous to human health because the small particulates lodge in the lungs which can have both immediate and long term health impacts.  Combustion engines and coal burning power plants are key contributors to PM2.5 particles, and according to the US EPA and World Health Organization, the smaller, finer pollutant particles measured by PM2.5 are especially dangerous for human health. Studies have shown that there is an increased risk of asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular problems, birth defects and premature death from these particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter.

Coal fired power plant and other sources of pollution like refineries and cars and trucks emit both particulates and precursor pollutants that form particulates in the atmosphere. Air pollution will be significantly reduced in the immediate region of the Dominion power plants and because particulate pollution can travel significant distances downwind, air pollution will be reduced outside the immediate region. The State Line Plant which sits on Lake Michigan and supplied power into the Chicago market had 515 megawatt capacity. According to the Chicago Tribune, Illinois alone added 500 megawatts of wind power in 2010, under DOE subsidized projects. Elimination of the State Line Plant will reduce particulate pollution.

Currently, under the Clean Air Act the US EPA has established both annual and 24-hour PM2.5 air quality standards (as well as standards for other pollutants). The annual standard is 12 ug/m3 (an air quality index, AQI of 50). The 24-hr standard is 35ug/m3 (an AQI of 99). These standards were last revised in December 2012 when the annual standard was lowered from 15 to 12 ug/m3. EPA’s analysis found the new lower standard for the annual exposure will prevent almost 2,000 premature deaths each year in the United States.  According to EPA seven U.S. cities averaged particulate levels higher than the 15 ug/m3, the former standard: Bakersfield, CA; Hanford, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Visalia, CA; Fresno, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; and Phoenix, AZ. The American Lung Association in their latest report states that twenty cities have average year-round particle pollution above the new EPA air quality standard of 12 ug/m3 and most are in California. Though the California cities will remain in non-attainment in the near term, the other cities are anticipated to be able to meet the standard with the implementation of the new regulations for coal fired power plants and other recent EPA regulations which will result in the closing of several power plants and the upgrade of the pollution control systems of the others.

The United States particulate levels are a small fraction of the levels in the worst areas of the world-Beijing, New Delhi, Santiago (Chile), Mexico City, Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Cairo (Egypt), Chongqing (China), Guangzhou (China), Hong Kong, and Kabul (Afghanistan).   However, studies have shown that air currents over the Pacific are carrying elevated particulate levels into California presumably from China. Combined with their automobile density and use, California cities might have a difficult time meeting the new PM 2.5 standard despite their strict regulations.

The air pollution in Beijing, home to over 20 million people, can be seen as the smog that wraps the city’s apartment complexes and office buildings on many days. The US Embassy in Beijing has their own PM2.5 monitoring station atop their building and has been reporting via an open Embassy Twitter Feed hourly PM2.5 pollutiondata. The U.S. Embassy reported a series of readings beyond the scale of the equipment air quality index, AQI, (which goes to 500) in fall of 2010. Particulates levels soared to over 700 ug/m3 last June and reportedly had levels hit 1,000 ug/m3 this past winter which sparked emergency measures in the city. All these levels are beyond the AQI scale. 

Current air quality levels from the US Embassy are “moderate,” but as Edward Wong reported in the New York Times and others reported elsewhere data from the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study found that over 3.2 million premature deaths in 2010 due to PM 2.5 particle air pollution worldwide. In East Asia (China and North Korea) PM 2.5 contributed to 1.2 million deaths in 2010, and in South Asia (including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) it contributed to 712,000 deaths in 2010. These numbers are more than double the deaths estimated by the World Health Organization based on 2004 data when there were fewer coal fired power plants, industrial plants and cars in these areas. Air quality in the urban centers of the United States has improved from the early days of the 20^th century when our nation was the factory of the world. While the   EPA’s regulations tighten and renewable energy subsidies increased to further improve ambient air quality and reduce carbon dioxide and pollutants released in the United States, the fast growing economies of Asia are spewing pollution (not only carbon dioxide) into earth’s atmosphere. 

EPA Announces Another New Air Standard

From US EPA

On Friday, December 14th in a conference called followed by a press release the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, announced the reduction to the fine particle pollution, PM2.5, average annual allowed level to 12 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3) from 15 ug/m3. The EPA requires states to monitor air pollution to assess the healthfulness of air quality and ensure that they meet minimum air quality standards, and has some monitoring stations, but not all of the nation is monitored. The US EPA has established both annual and 24-hour PM2.5 air quality standards (as well as standards for other pollutants). The annual standard is now 12 ug/m3 (an AQI of 39). The 24-hr standard was recently revised to a level of 35 ug/m3 (an AQI of 99) and will remain unchanged. States will have until 2020 to meet the revised annual PM2.5 health standard. EPA projections show 99% of U.S. counties with monitoring stations will meet the standard with only 7 counties in California failing to meet the Annual Fine Particle Health Standard of 12 μg/m3. For coarse particles, PM10, EPA is retaining the existing 24-hour standard at 150 μg/m3 the same standard that has been in place since 1987.

Particulate matter is made up of particles that are emitted directly, such as soot and dust, as well as secondary particles that are formed in the atmosphere from reactions of precursor pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and ammonia (NH3). Particle are either directly emitted or formed in the atmosphere. Directly-emitted particles come from a variety of sources such as cars, trucks, buses, industrial facilities, power plants, construction sites, tilled fields, unpaved roads, stone crushing, and burning of wood. Other particles are formed indirectly when gases produced by fossil fuel combustion react with sunlight and water vapor. Many combustion sources, such as motor vehicles, power plants, and refineries both emit particles directly and emit precursor pollutants that form secondary particulates. Ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate are the principal components of secondary particulates. 

Particulate matter has immediate health impacts: itchy, watery eyes, increased respiratory symptoms such as irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty breathing and aggravated asthma. Health effects can result from both short-term and long-term exposure to particulate pollution. Exposure to particles can also trigger heart attacks and cause premature death in people with pre-existing cardiac or respiratory disease. People most sensitive to particulate pollution include infants and children, the elderly, and persons with existing heart and lung disease. The particles can travel deep into the lungs, enter the bloodstream, and penetrate into cells. Smaller particles can penetrate deepest, causing the greatest harm. Researchers are still trying to identify which types and sources of particles are most hazardous to human health. Though, particles created from combustion soot tend to be fine particles with diameters smaller than 2.5 microns (PM 2.5) which are the most dangerous because it lodges in the lungs. Dust is mostly coarser particles. 

Since most counties will be in compliance with the new standard based on previous EPA regulations and auto emission standards, EPA estimates that meeting the annual fine particle standard of 12.0 μg/m3 will cost only between $53 million to $350 million, but provide health benefits worth an estimated $4 billion to $9.1 billion per year in 2020. If you would like to read about how these assessments are made see section 5 of “Regulatory Impact Analysis for theFinal Revisions to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ParticulateMatter” it is a window into the art and science of projecting benefits. 

Currently, EPA reports that there are 66 counties of the 569 that are monitored in the nation that do not meet the 12 ug/m3 annual standard. You might want to look to see if you live in one on this list, but not every county is monitored. Prince William is not, but Fairfax is. The new PM2.5 standard is the last in a long list of regulations to improve air quality in the United States and have resulted in even the seven worst counties in the country (all in California) having significantly better air quality than the PM2.5 air monitor atop the US Embassy in Beijing reports. Below is the list of air quality rules that have resulted in the tremendous improvement in air quality from 2000-2010 in the chart above and bring the United States to the next level in clean air. 

·        Light-Duty Vehicle Tier 2 Rule (U.S. EPA, 1999)

·        Heavy Duty Diesel Rule (U.S. EPA, 2000)

·        Clean Air Nonroad Diesel Rule (U.S. EPA, 2004)

·        Regional Haze Regulations and Guidelines for Best Available Retrofit Technology Determinations (U.S. EPA, 2005b)

·        NOx Emission Standard for New Commercial Aircraft Engines (U.S. EPA, 2005)

·        Emissions Standards for Locomotives and Marine Compression-Ignition Engines (U.S. EPA, 2008)

·        Control of Emissions for Nonroad Spark Ignition Engines and Equipment (U.S. EPA, 2008)

·        C3 Oceangoing Vessels (U.S. EPA, 2010)

·        Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators: New Source Performance Standards and Emission Guidelines: Final Rule Amendments (U.S. EPA, 2009)

·        Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE) NESHAPs (U.S. EPA, 2010)

·        Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (U.S. EPA, 2011)

·        Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (U.S. EPA, 2011)

Chevron Fire and Air Quality in the East Bay

On the evening of August 6, 2012 a fire broke out at the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, CA. The fire began in a crude oil unit, where there was a leak and was contained that evening, but a small controlled burn was allowed to reduce pressure in the system. Area residents were told to stay inside with windows closed for more than five hours before the all clear was given by the Contra Costa County Health Department.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) responded to the emergency and took eight air samples during the fire. After analysis of the samples for 23 chemical compounds the Air District reported that they found only acrolein levels above the Reference Exposure Level, REL. The Air District noted that throughout the Bay Area acrolein levels are commonly above the REL (not exactly comforting). Reportedly, acrolein levels routinely range between 1 and 4.5 parts per billion. The Air District stated in their news release that “(t)hese concentrations were similar to the “background” levels measured throughout the Bay Area by our monitoring network.”

While this sounds comforting this report by the Air District can be misleading. First of all the data is incomplete and second there are three types of REL, Acute (1 hour exposure), 8 hour (which may be repeated) and chronic. When the Air District spoke of REL they were referring to the acute level, not normal everyday background levels. According to Cal EPA “The acute REL is an exposure that is not likely to cause adverse effects in a human population, including sensitive subgroups, exposed to that concentration for one hour on an intermittent basis.” These health based acute RELs apply to spills, leaks, or other discharges to the ambient air that results from routine operation of a facility and predictable process upsets or leaks.”

Cal EPA determined the concentration level at which no adverse health effects are anticipated for a short term. The acute RELs are based on the most sensitive populations reporting of adverse health effects in the medical and toxicological literature. RELs are designed to protect the most sensitive individuals in the population by the inclusion of margins of safety. Margins of safety are incorporated into the REL to address data gaps and uncertainties, exceeding the REL does not automatically indicate an adverse health impact. The acute REL was the “background” levels that the Air District referred to. More importantly, the data from the Air District is not yet complete. There was no measurement of particulates.

According to reports in the San Francisco Chronicle there was a huge cloud of smoke and hundreds of people went to the hospital to seek treatment. The most likely source of health impacts from the fire is particulate matter from smoke. The Air District does not yet have any data to release on particulate concentrations downwind from the Chevron refinery. For some reason the stationary continuous particulate monitors for the Air District in the local area are upwind of the refinery. The Air District says samples were taken in San Pablo, two miles from the Chevron facility following the fire and are being analyzed for particulate matter levels. Results are expected in the next two weeks, but there is only a small chance that the regularly scheduled monitoring time will have caught the smoke cloud.

Particulate matter is made up of particles that are emitted directly, such as soot and dust, as well as secondary particles that are formed in the atmosphere from reactions of precursor pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and ammonia (NH3). Particle are either directly emitted or formed in the atmosphere. Directly-emitted particles come from a variety of sources such as cars, trucks, buses, industrial facilities, power plants, construction sites, tilled fields, unpaved roads, stone crushing, and burning of wood. Other particles are formed indirectly when gases produced by fossil fuel combustion react with sunlight and water vapor. Many combustion sources, such as motor vehicles, power plants, and refineries both emit particles directly and emit precursor pollutants that form secondary particulates. Ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate are the principal components of secondary particulates.

Particulate matter has immediate health impacts: itchy, watery eyes, increased respiratory symptoms such as irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty breathing and aggravated asthma. Health effects can result from both short-term and long-term exposure to particulate pollution. Exposure to particles can also trigger heart attacks and cause premature death in people with pre-existing cardiac or respiratory disease. People most sensitive to particulate pollution include infants and children, the elderly, and persons with existing heart and lung disease. The particles can travel deep into the lungs, enter the bloodstream, and penetrate into cells. Smaller particles can penetrate deepest, causing the greatest harm. Researchers are still trying to identify which types and sources of particles are most hazardous to human health. Though, particles created from combustion soot tend to be fine particles with diameters smaller than 2.5 microns (PM 2.5) which are the most dangerous because it lodges in the lungs. Dust is mostly coarser particles.

According to the Lung Association, the two biggest air pollution threats in the United States are ozone and particle pollution. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. EPA requires states to monitor air pollution to assess the healthfulness of air quality and ensure that they meet minimum air quality standards. The US EPA has established both annual and 24-hour PM2.5 air quality standards (as well as standards for other pollutants). The annual standard is currently 15 ug/m3 (an AQI of 49). The 24-hr standard was recently revised to a level of 35 ug/m3 (an AQI of 99). The EPA is proposing new air quality particulate standards to go into effect in December 2012. The proposed annual average particle pollution will be lowered to 12-13 ug/m3. The maximum 24 hour standard will remain unchanged at 35 ug/m3. The Bay Area Air District does not have a live feed for their particulate pollution levels like some regions of the state.

The Bay Area's cool, coastal climate safeguards the region against some factors that exacerbate pollution, such as high temperatures and stagnant air flow. Nonetheless, the Bay Area is a nonattainment area due to persistent smog. Santa Clara, Solano and Contra Costa counties had more than 12 high particle pollution days last year of record. A study of children in Southern California showed lung damage associated with long-term particulate exposure, and a multi-city study found decreased lung function in children associated with long term particulate exposure. Many scientific studies have linked exposure to excess particulates to aggravated asthma, increased respiratory symptoms like coughing and difficult or painful breathing, chronic bronchitis, decreased lung function, heart attack and premature death. According to American Lung Association State of the Air Report, Pittsburgh, PA had the highest particle pollution in the nation on an annual basis and Bakersfield, CA had the highest number of days exceeding the daily level. Seven cities averaged particulate levels higher than the 15 ug/m3 current standard allows: Bakersfield, CA; Hanford, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Visalia, CA; Fresno, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; and Phoenix, AZ.

EPA Goes After Particulate Air Pollution

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy announced Friday that they are proposing new air quality particulate standards to go into effect in December 2012. Though EPA is required to review air standards every five years under the Clean Air Act and had apparently already decided on reducing the particulate level, EPA wanted to delay the new standards until 2013. However, a suit filed by eleven states: New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and California and several environmental groups forced the EPA to act now. The court found that the EPA failed to adequately explain how the primary annual 2.5 micron particulate standard (PM 2.5) provided an adequate margin of safety for the most vulnerable-children, the infirm and the old.

A study of children in Southern California showed lung damage associated with long-term particulate exposure, and a multi-city study found decreased lung function in children associated with long term particulate exposure. These two studies appeared to warrant a more stringent annual particulate standard according to the court. The United States particulate levels are a small fraction of the levels in the worst areas of the world-Beijing, New Delhi, Santiago (Chile), Mexico City, Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Cairo (Egypt), Chongqing (China), Guangzhou (China), Hong Kong, and Kabul (Afghanistan).  

Currently, under the Clean Air Act the US EPA has established both annual and 24-hour PM2.5 air quality standards (as well as standards for other pollutants). The annual standard is 15 ug/m3 (an air quality index, AQI of 49). The 24-hr standard was last revised to a level of 35 ug/m3 (an AQI of 99). These standards were last reviewed in 2006, but no change was made at that time. It was reported that the EPA’s analysis found a lower standard for the annual exposure would have prevented almost 2,000 premature deaths each year.  Combustion engines and coal burning power plants are key contributors to PM2.5 particles, and according to the US EPA and World Health Organization, the smaller, finer pollutant particles measured by PM2.5 are especially dangerous for human health. Studies have shown that there is an increased risk of asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular problems, birth defects and premature death from particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter that lodge deep in the lungs.

According to the Lung Association, the two biggest air pollution threats in the United States are ozone and particle pollution. Other pollutants include carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and a variety of toxic substances including mercury that appear in smaller quantities. The EPA, requires states to monitor air pollution to assess the healthfulness of air quality and ensure that they meet minimum air quality standards. The recently challenged, Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) was intended in part to prevent pollution from one state from moving into other states and preventing them from meeting their goals because several states have been unable to meet the current standard. PM2.5 particles can be either directly emitted or formed via atmospheric reactions. Primary particles are emitted from cars, trucks, and heavy equipment, as well as residential wood combustion, forest fires, and agricultural waste burning. The main components of secondary particulate matter are formed when pollutants like NOx and SO2 react in the atmosphere to form particles. However, studies have shown that air currents over the Pacific are carrying elevated particulate levels into California presumably from China.

According to American Lung Association State of the Air Report, Pittsburgh had the highest particle pollution in the nation on an annual basis. Seven cities averaged particulate levels higher than the 15 ug/m3 current standard allows: Bakersfield, CA; Hanford, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Visalia, CA; Fresno, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; and Phoenix, AZ. The American Lung Association in their latest report states that twenty cities actually have average year-round particle pollution below the current regulated level, but above the proposed EPA air quality standard of 12-13 ug/m3. The maximum 24 hour standard will remain unchanged at 35 ug/m3.

EPA Regulates Air Releases from Fracked Wells

When natural gas is produced, some of the gas and other volatile substances present in the wells escapes. EPA released the first federal air rules for natural gaswells that are hydraulically fractured, specifically requiring operators of newfractured natural gas wells to use “green completion,” which is a series of technologies and practices to capture natural gas and other volatile substance that might otherwise escape the well during the completion period when the well transitioned from drilling through the completion string and fractured.

Much of the air pollution from fracked gas wells is vented when the well transitions from drilling to actual production, a multi-day process that involves running a pipe casing or a liner down the well to the production zone, and cementing it in place leaving perforations for flow. Once the completion string is in place, the final step is to fracture the well. Drilling requires large amounts of water to create a circulating mud that cools the bit and carries the rock cuttings out of the borehole. After drilling, the shale formation is then stimulated by hydro fracking, using 2-5 million gallons of water. For gas to flow out of the shale, all of the water not absorbed by the formation during fracking must be recovered and disposed of. Though less than 0.5% by volume, the proprietary chemicals represent 15,000 gallons in the waste water recovered from the typical hydro fracking job. The chemicals serve to increases the viscosity of the water to a gel-like consistency so that it can carry the propping agent (typically sand) into the fractures to hold them open so that the gas can flow.

The flowback fluid carries residual drilling muds, fracking fluid and gas. In many instances it is allowed to flow our of an open well and the fluid is placed in open ponds. The new rules will require this fluid to be captured by 2015, and flared before that. Open ponding of fracking fluids is eliminated. An earlier version of the rule limiting air pollution from gas wells would have required companies to install pollution-reducing equipment immediately after the rule was finalized, but in the final version there is a phase in period. Besides the new air pollution standards for oil and gas wells, the EPA also updated existing rules for natural gas processing plants, storage tanks and transmission lines.

According to the EPA , these new rules have received inter-agency feedback and provide industry flexibility as required under the recently signed Executive Order on Natural Gas Development. Agencies involved include the departments of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Energy and Homeland Security, as well as the EPA, Council on Environmental Quality, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of Management and Budget, and National Economic Council.

Beijing and Bakersfield Air Quality Problems

Air pollution is once more in the news. The Chinese announced that they will begin publishing the small particle, PM2.5 air pollution data for Beijing after January 23rd. Beijing, has been reporting their air quality based on PM10, which are particles smaller than 10 micrometers but larger than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. It has not reported particulate pollution of 2.5 micrometers or less. Combustion engines and coal burning power plants are key contributors to PM2.5 particles, and according to the US EPA and World Health Organization, the smaller, finer pollutants measured by PM2.5 are especially dangerous for human health. Studies have shown that people increased risk of asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular problems, birth defects and premature death from particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter that lodge deep in the lungs.

Despite the official Chinese government report of 286 “blue sky” days last year, the air pollution in Beijing, home to over 20 million people, is easily seen by the smog that wraps the city’s apartment complexes and office buildings many days and by non-government sanctioned reports. The US Embassy in Beijing has their own PM2.5 monitoring station atop their building and has been reporting via an open Embassy Twitter Feed hourly PM2.5 pollution data to the chagrin of the Chinese government because it conflicted with official government data. The U.S. Embassy reported a series of readings beyond the scale of the air quality index, AQI, (which goes to 500) in fall of 2010 and levels over 300 this past fall which sparked a public campaign (over the internet) for better government reporting. Current air quality levels from the US Embassy are 325 which is “hazardous” according to the EPA.

In the United States, the Air Pollution Control District for Bakersfield, California, the city ranked by the American Lung Association as having the worst particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution in the United States for the last several years, announced they had the worst air quality December recorded in over a decade. The area has already had four times as many unhealthy days this season than in the entire 2010-2011 winter season. In Bakersfield and the rest of the San Joaquin Valley PM2.5 concentrations are highest when cool stable weather and low wind speeds coupled with the Valley’s topography limit dispersion of pollutants and allow multi-day buildups of PM2.5 concentrations to occur along with the “Tule” fog which forms during this time of year. A lingering high-pressure system and dry La Nina conditions in the Pacific have created stagnant air in the valley. As a result car exhaust, agricultural emission and smoke from factories and chimneys has remained in place and this morning’s reading on the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District was 25 ug/m3 at Bakersfield with an AQI of 74 which is “moderate” air quality.

According to the Lung Association, the two biggest air pollution threats in the United States are ozone and particle pollution. Other pollutants include carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and a variety of toxic substances including mercury that appear in smaller quantities. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. EPA, requires states to monitor air pollution to assess the healthfulness of air quality and ensure that they meet minimum air quality standards. The US EPA has established both annual and 24-hour PM2.5 air quality standards (as well as standards for other pollutants). The annual standard is 15 ug/m3 (an AQI of 49). The 24-hr standard was recently revised to a level of 35 ug/m3 (an AQI of 99). The recently challenged, Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) was intended in part to prevent pollution from one state from moving into other states and preventing them from meeting their goals, but the problems in the San Joaquin Valley are caused by local industry, the weather and the Sierra Nevada mountains to the east and the Coastal Range mountains to the west that wall the valley. The World Health Organization guidelines for PM2.5 are based on a mean level rather than the average that the U.S. EPA uses.

PM2.5 particles can be either directly emitted or formed via atmospheric reactions. Primary particles are emitted from cars, trucks, and heavy equipment, as well as residential wood combustion, forest fires, and agricultural waste burning. The main components of secondary particulate matter are formed when pollutants like NOx and SO2 react in the atmosphere to form particles. In the San Joaquin Valley the primary source of secondary particles are ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate which forms when nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions from cars, trucks, and industrial facilities react with ammonia from agricultural operations.

Bakersfield, at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley with a population of about 350,000 has some of the worst air in the United States. The city’s economy relies on agriculture, petroleum extraction and refining, and manufacturing. Cutting through the valley are the state's two main north-south highway corridors, the routes for nearly all long-distance tractor trailer rigs, the No. 2 source of particulate pollution in the valley. Also in the mix are millions of acres of plowed farmland and 1.6 million dairy cows and ammonia-laden manure they create. Without wind and rain, when the Tule fog forms, the air sits, trapped as if in a pot with a lid. With an air quality index a fraction of the level in Beijing local groups in Bakersfield have condemned the failure of the Air Quality Control Board to meet the federal standard by banning wood burning as the easiest source of particulate pollution that is easy to ban, but even with the ban in place for most of December, air quality remained at unhealthy levels with AQI over 100, but air quality has improved over the weekend.