The recent June 5 World Environment Day theme 'Beat Air Pollution' is a timely reminder that air quality is taking centre stage with local communities, industry, city government and Federal and State authorities. If you needed further proof of the increased priority of air quality, look no further than the phenomenal uptake of Aeroqual's air [...]

The 23rd Annual Joint Technical Conference On March 26, 2019, Paul Pickering attended the A&WMA & AIHA 23rd Annual Joint Technical Conference. The following are key takeaways he observed from his time at the conference in New York. Wandering down Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Strip District I was charmed to find an Irish sports bar called Lefty’s [...]

All earth-moving operations at notified remediation sites in California must comply with Rule 1466. It applies to all parts of California regulated by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). The rule ensures that off-site fugitive dust emissions containing toxic air contaminants are minimized. It came into effect in early 2018. For an overview [...]

Environmental consultants have always had some level of community interaction. What’s changed, however, is a shift in the balance of power towards the public and this has all sorts of ramifications for the air testing community. Senior Consultant, Drew Hill Senior Consultant and Air Quality, Health, and Data Scientist with SHAIR at Ramboll in San Francisco, Drew [...]

This blog post summarizes what regulations apply to remediation sites in New York, and what air monitoring equipment can help you comply. Brownfield cleanup in New York City As New York City’s need for space grows, existing stock of land must be used more effectively. Brownfield cleanup and redevelopment represents one of the best opportunities [...]

The air quality consulting industry is experiencing an age of disruption. Disruption brought about by increased accessibility to low cost air monitoring equipment, growing public awareness, activism and greater regulation. But according to many consultants in the business, the biggest threat to consultants remains consultants themselves. Headlines like ‘Air monitoring at grade school near Rockwool [...]

What is remediation? Environmental site remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water. It includes systematic steps involving detection, investigation and hazard assessments of suspected contaminated sites. Remedial activities are designed to reverse toxic changes in soil and water, eliminate site pollution, and protect sensitive receptors, such [...]

In July 2017, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) adopted Rule 1466 - Control of Particulate Emissions from Soils with Toxic Air Contaminants. The new rule was amended last December before going into effect in early 2018 for all applicable earth-moving operations that take place in parts of California regulated by the SCAQMD. [...]

Part 1 of this blog series discusses how these pollutants occur on construction sites, the impact on our health and environment, and what monitoring regulations apply.

The first blog in this series addressed two critical air pollutants, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM), how they occur on construction sites, impact on health and environment, and what monitoring regulations apply. In this post we discuss the principal methods used to measure NO2 and PM and their relevance to monitoring in [...]

In this blog series, Part 1 explained how construction activities can generate harmful emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM), and what monitoring regulations apply. Part 2 discussed principal NO2 and PM monitoring techniques, and guidance for selecting appropriate methods for construction and demolition sites. In this final post, we look at siting [...]

This is a question we often get asked. Especially by people who are in less built up areas and are surprised to find they have an ozone problem which they associate with big cities. Ozone formation and dispersion is complex and is influenced by many factors. We wrote this blogpost to do our best to […]

I recently returned from a tour of India which took in the megacities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, plus the smaller cities of Pune and Vishakhapatnam. What struck me most on this trip was the depth of air pollution knowledge from people in the street. Locals in hotels, bars and airports chatted about PM10 […]

September 20-23 saw the 22nd International Clear Air and Environment Conference come to Melbourne, Australia. This biennial conference, also dubbed CASANZ 2015, was a collaboration of the Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand (CASANZ) and the Federal Australian Government. With the theme of New Frontiers, this conference and exhibition was designed to demonstrate […]