Environment DEC
From the March 2007 issue
New Facility Sets Standard for Monitoring NYC Air Pollution
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Division of Air Resources, Bureau of Air Quality Surveillance (BAQS), operates one of the most extensive ambient networks for monitoring air pollution in the country. One of the newest sites in the state is the remodeled station on the Queens College campus, in Kew Garden Hills, Queens.
The Division of Air Quality Standards Bureau of Air Quality Surveillance, Queens College Ambient Air Monitoring Station
In 1978, BAQS began monitoring at Queens College for ozone (also known as smog) and sulfur dioxide. This continued until 1997 when the monitoring equipment was removed from the college during a campus-wide renovation. During the summer of 2001, BAQS partnered with SUNY Albany's Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, and monitoring resumed at the Queens College campus.
An intensive summertime project to monitor air pollution evaluated significantly more air-pollution parameters than the original monitoring effort did. It provided a unique opportunity to enhance our understanding of ozone and fine particulate matter and their relationship to air quality. When the project was finished, BAQS resumed daily monitoring at Queens College, evaluating more air-pollution parameters than just ozone and sulfur dioxide.
Now, BAQS is looking forward to the establishment of an even more extensive monitoring station at the college. It will use the latest equipment, provide extensive real-time data to the public and explore new monitoring technologies to look at new air pollutants.
Collaborative Effort
Queens College provided space on its campus for a new building, which was built with funding from DEC as well as assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As general contractor, the NYS Dormitory Authority oversaw the project. The collaborative effort among these groups resulted in a building that is designed to monitor air pollution well into the future.
The new facility will be part of the EPA's National Core (NCore) multi-pollutant monitoring sites. Monitors at the Queens College NCore site will include instruments to measure both fine particulate matter (PM2.5 microns) and coarse particles (PM10-2.5 microns) and their components. The NCore site also will measure ozone, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, toxic compounds and meteorological data.
The New York City metropolitan area does not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone and fine particulates. The new monitoring site will provide valuable information about the city's air quality, including coarse particulates, for which new standards are anticipated.
Real-time Information
The new facility, as well as others in the New York State air-monitoring network, will provide information about air pollution on a real-time basis. DEC will use this information to forecast air-pollution levels, and it will be used by the EPA's AIRNow website to provide a national air-quality forecast as well. In addition, the information will be used to evaluate and compare New York's air to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and determine the state's ability to attain those standards. It also will be used for air-quality modeling, tracking, research, health and other special studies.
DEC's Queens College Air Monitoring Station will be an excellent example of the EPA's new NCore air-monitoring network and will continue to provide valuable information about New York City's air quality.
Related Links
Bureau of Air Quality Surveillance
