Marine Transfer Station Air Monitoring

Project Description

In response to community concerns regarding air quality from increased collection vehicle traffic and the operation of New York City (City) Department of Sanitation (DSNY) Marine Transfer Stations (MTSs), DSNY agreed to evaluate air quality and the potential for diesel exhaust and other fine particle emissions associated with operation of each of its four MTSs twice annually for five years during typical facility operations. To conduct the monitoring, DSNY followed an MTS Air Monitoring Protocol and determined that monitoring of particulate matter of a diameter of 2.5 microns or smaller (PM_2.5) would most appropriately address community concerns regarding air quality in the vicinity of each operating MTS.

Paul Carpenter Associates, Inc. (PCA), as a subconsultant to HDR Engineering, Inc. (HDR), assisted with the PM_2.5 monitoring in accordance with the Air Monitoring Protocol. One-time baseline ambient air monitoring was performed at each MTS in order to establish concentration levels of PM_2.5 in the immediate vicinity of the MTS without the facility in operation. The team then performed bi-annual operational air monitoring at each MTS and compared PM_2.5 concentrations with baseline levels, as well as existing New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) ambient PM_2.5 monitoring data available in the City, in order to assess whether MTS-related activity had a measurable effect on local PM_2.5 concentrations.

PM_2.5 concentrations were collected for approximately two to three weeks during each monitoring period in order to obtain several cycles of weather patterns in terms of wind direction. PM_2.5 data were recorded in 60-minute intervals and post-processed to develop 24-hour average concentrations. Hourly PM_2.5 data in combination with hourly wind data was used to diagnose which emissions sources in the vicinity might be contributing to the measured concentrations.